


Shady Fortunes

by Masterweaver



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Bumbleby Big Bang 2020, F/F, Heist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27542167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterweaver/pseuds/Masterweaver
Summary: Concordance City is a shimmering jewel on the world of Remnant, risen by the kingdoms as a sign of their unity. Wealth and fame flow through the streets in a network of streams and rivers, all manner of ventures sipping from them and growing to great heights. It's a practical everglade of opportunity... and in every bog, hungry predators trawl the murky depths.Yang's one of those people who can catch things that slip through the cracks, help where the law can't. Sometimes, though, she just has to stir up the hornet's nest. When she follows a trail of a murder and finds an injured woman, she's quickly swept up into a desperate attempt to fight against less-than-legal justice. But there's more to Blake than her situation, and there's more to the situation than either of them realize.As they struggle against the battling tides of fate, buffeted by chance and circumstance, the two of them will discover little is certain, and those things that are must be clung to tightly.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ilia Amitola, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 15
Kudos: 71
Collections: Bumbleby Big Bang 2020





	1. Steel Wheel

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome one and all to my donation to the Bumbleby Big Bang! Where authors are partnered with artists and ninjacatgirls are paired with blondzerkers. This story was written by me and comes with an illustration by Irusu, who is not only an incredibly amazing artist but also patiently tolerated my obsession with hair.
> 
> Seriously go check them out they got great work. And check out the rest of the Bumbleby Big Bang, there's a lot of talent.
> 
> Now sit back, relax, and enjoy this heartwarming story that starts the best way a story can.
> 
> WITH A MURDER.

The blood-splattered pages fluttered briefly in the wind as she strode inside, holding up her hands when the cops snapped their gazes toward her. "Easy, boys, I'm just takin' a look, won't touch nothing."

"Ma'am, this is a crime scene, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

An amused huff left a wry smirk as the hands lowered. "Now is that any way to treat a lady? I'd've thought your parents would've taught you better." Her lilac eyes trailed over the shelf knocked to the ground, the smashed desk, and of course the body soaking the carpet. "Stabbed _and_ shot, huh? Big guy must've put up a hell of a fight."

"We will be investigating the situation," said the lead cop again, stepping between her and the corpse. "Please, move along."

The lady rolled her eyes, taking one last survey around the room. "Right, right." Her gaze lingered momentarily on a red splatter running down the lower edge of a door. "Word to the wise? ID our boy _before_ Lavender comes along with her news crew."

She turned around, adjusted her fedora, and stepped back into the flickering light of the street lamps, boots clacking against the pavement as she glanced around the corner of the building. A shimmering crack outlined the door still swinging on its hinges, not quite closed; drips of scarlet trailed up to a wire fence before reappearing on the other side.

"Hello, hel _lo..."_ The lady fluffed her trenchcoat, checking over her shoulder as she wandered into the dank alleyway. "Who are you, then?"

The blood splatters stopped partway through the other side, ending in a small puddle. So whoever it was had taken the time to patch themselves up, interesting. Almost as interesting as the fire escape missing a ladder. Cutting off pursuit...

She ran a finger thoughtfully through her golden locks. "Big guy was pretty clearly dead. Killer wouldn't expect a chase, they'd be free to walk out the front door... unless big guy wasn't the only one there. Question is, why were you running?"

The lady stepped back into the street, tying up her belt. It'd be a long while before she got back to her office, but in a city of questions, Yang Xiao Long felt a need to seek out the answers.

She scaled the building, only to discover the roof access door was locked. Which of course meant her quarry had taken a less obvious route. A slow walk around the very edge revealed a pair of small gashes in the gravel; she rose her gaze in some disbelief, tracking down the path they made and whistling when she saw the glint of the missing ladder five buildings away.

"And you got that far after getting grazed? That's damned impressive, if you ask me."

She heaved herself over the edge and slid to the ground, holding on to her hat while her boots and glove kicked up sparks. It was a matter of moments before she was at the very building that she'd spotted the ladder on, walking around it carefully. Doors were all locked, and the fire escape here wasn't down... but the shadow on the front window put a frown on her face, and she turned around to look at a nearby lampost.

"Uh _huh..."_

Yang trailed around it, raising her left thumb and forefinger as she peered at the lantern. Yep. Definitely misaligned, aaaaand... well, it wasn't an unreasonable jump from the roof, Yang supposed.

"We've got a damned ninja." The twin gravel gashes flashed in her mind. "In heels, too... the hell _happened_ in that shop?"

She leaned around the corner, watching the police meander about the crime scene with their usual level of unfocused professionalism for a moment or two, before turning away with a snort. Now, where would her runner head off too...? Assuming they didn't want to attract attention, they wouldn't want to step onto the same road that the store was on. At least, if they were thinking rationally--blind panic could drive a person anywhere. Still, with nothing else to go on, Yang shrugged and chose the road that led away from the scene, keeping her eyes peeled every time she passed an alleyway or crossroads.

* * *

The shattered moon loomed over the ramshackle roadways, painting Concordance city with shades of silver and black. That was just enough to keep the young woman making her way down the lane unnoticed, even by those passing by; her lacy dress and pearl bracelets blended well with the evening colors, eyes sliding off her like rain from a window. If anybody noticed her faint limp, they didn't comment; too wrapped up in their own thoughts to spare one for a passerby.

She huffed dryly at the observation, looking about for any sign that anyone had been following her. Or even noticed her.... No, it would seem she was in the clear for now. All she had to do was...

...well...

She sighed, looking up at the shattered moon. There hadn't been a plan, beyond getting the hell out, and now she was on an unfamiliar street with no clue what to do next. All the ‘safe' places she knew about weren't safe anymore. The cops would probably just toss her in a cell the moment she spoke to them. Briefly, she considered heading home, but her dark ears flattened at the thought.

There was always the possibility of living outside the city...

Well, whatever she decided, she needed to get off the street _now._ Golden eyes flicked across the doors and alleyways, judging the likelihood of safety. Something in her gut drew her to the dark space between two stout buildings, and she wandered behind a dumpster, sitting down and pulling her knees to her chest.

"Okay." The young woman took a deep breath. "One... step at a time. I don't have money, and I can't... go anywhere familiar." She carefully wiped a threatening tear out of her eye, leaning against the dumpster. "So I have to find someplace new. That'll take in a random faunus."

Her fingers clenched around her knees... and she glanced down at the ragged hemline of her dress. After a moment, she rose her arm, biting down on the sleeve and dragging her teeth through the fabric. It took her a bit to work through the tear, mostly because she was trying to keep quiet, but she was eventually able to pull the sleeve off her arm and tie it around her ears as a makeshift bow.

She looked into a nearby puddle, biting her lip at the reflection. "Find someplace new... and keep the bow on."

With a sigh, Blake Belladonna rose and hobbled into the night.

It wasn't as though she was _completely_ without an idea of where to go. Motels wouldn't put up with her, so that was out. Most of her friends would, but after... all that, it wasn't likely she would be allowed to stay long. And, well, there were places she just couldn't head for...

The feeling was beginning to steal over her that she had more of an idea of where _not_ to go than an idea of where she _should._

Maybe she could find a quiet little nook to rest the night in. Behind a dumpster... on a bench... in an alley. Somewhere out of sight. And in the morning, she could....

"Find a newspaper, maybe. Check... job listings."

Yeah. Job listings. Somebody had to need new help, and Blake had a lot of skills. No references--none that she could use without attracting _his_ attention, but that didn't matter, right? Not too much? Just a complete stranger, needing a job.

She stumbled a bit as the pain in her abdomen flared up, but kept herself from falling.

Worst came to worst, there was always... the darker side of the roads. She knew she looked good, knew she could attract attention, all she had to do was find places where that could... could sell. It shouldn't be too hard. Not too hard. Just wander about and, well... there had to be signs, right? Guideposts... had to be a way to find them, or they wouldn't be able to sell the... sell their...

A bad step led her to trip, legs buckling beneath her as she fell to the pavement. Part of her tried to push herself back up, stumbling forward a bit more, before she swayed into a nearby alleyway and propped herself up behind a pile of crates.

"I can... start tomorrow."

Blake shut her eyes, fading off into sleep as the black fabric round her waist soaked red.

* * *

The hum of the hovercar droned to near silence as it pulled up next to the store. One of the officers rushed to the blue and white door, opening it with a salute. "Captain Ebi, sir!"

"At ease," replied a genial voice with a touch of amusement, shortly followed by a man with an amiable smile stepping out and tipping his hat. "I have cadet Polendina with me today, for training purposes."

"Of course, sir." The officer took a look at the brightly smiling girl that stepped out of the back seat. "Ah... there's a body and a lot of blood, so..."

She smiled reassuringly at him. "Do not worry! I have already been approved for murder investigation!"

"That's... not quite what I meant."

"Penny will be fine," Captain Ebi said with confident dismissal. "Now then, Penny, let's review the standard crime scene procedure."

"Affirmative! Step one: Establish the scene dimensions and identify potential safety and health hazards."

"Officer?"

The officer shrugged, gesturing toward the building. "It's a bookshop, so we've marked off the storefront area and the front steps."

Penny tilted her head, orange curls bouncing faintly. "Would it not also be prudent to mark off the back storage rooms and any ground floor exit?"

"Well... now that you mention it..." The officer rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "The initial report said a man with horns ran out the front door after all the noise happened, so we focused on that, but yeah, we should have..."

"You might want to set that up now," captain Ebi hinted, his friendly voice taking a turn for the stern.

"Right, uh... You and you!" The officer pointed at two others. "Secure the back room and any exits you find!"

"That was a good catch, Penny."

The girl's smile grew, pushing against her freckles. "Thank you sir!"

"Now, after establishing the dimensions of the scene, what comes next?"

"Establish security!" Penny replied brightly. "Edward Lorcán's Exchange Principle states that anybody entering or leaving a crime scene will add or subtract material, so it is best to control who moves through it and how."

"I could not have said it better myself. Officer, has anybody been poking around?"

"There was one girl who stepped in just as we were starting," the officer admitted. "She didn't touch anything, though, just took a look and stepped out.

Captain Ebi pinched his brow. "And you didn't think to I.D. her?"

"She didn't seem involved."

"Whether or not she was, she might have contaminated the crime scene," Penny said helpfully. "It would be problematic to misinterpret the data presented due to an unrelated event."

The officer sighed. "Look, cadet? Rules are all well and good, but sometimes they can't keep up with the real world."

"Which is why _we_ keep up with it," the captain pointed out, crossing his arms. "Can you tell me anything about this girl?"

"She was... wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora. And..." The officer frowned. "She _did_ notice that the victim was shot and stabbed, now that I think of it. Warned us to I.D. him before Lavender showed up."

A flicker of suspicion crossed the captain's face, as he reached for his pocket. "Was she blonde?"

"Yes, actually."

He pulled out a thin pane of plastic, tapping at it before turning it around. "Is this her?"

The officer peered at the picture for a moment. "...Huh. Well, if it wasn't she's a dead ringer. Who is she?"

"Yang Xiao Long. She's a... the best phrase is probably ‘Private Investigator.'"

"So she is also a policeman?" Penny asked.

"No, she doesn't work for the police."

Confusion entered the girl's green eyes. "But if she is a private investigator--"

The captain sighed, taking off his hat. "The thing is, Penny... the law lets us do some things and go some places, but there are places where police intervention isn't exactly the best idea. Yang's one of those people who can catch things that slip through the cracks, help where we can't."

"So she's a good person," Penny surmised.

"She means well, anyway," Captain Ebi replied noncommittally. "But sometimes she just has to stir up the hornet's nest. If she's poking her nose into this, I don't have any idea what kind of trouble she might pick up off the street."


	2. High Card

...soft...

...warm?

That.... something wasn't right about that...

Another word, wrap, yes, the warm wrapped softly...

Not enough. Was there more?

She shifted slightly and cringed at a sudden flare of pain, sharp and dull all at once, and her memory reminded her of how she had gotten that pain, fear and sorrow pouring in a dark choking mixture down her throat as she whimpered--

"Easy now, miss. You're safe."

Blake opened her eyes, warily taking in wherever it was she had ended up. There were filing cabinets against one wall, topped with a strangely ornate statue of a dragon. A wooden desk sat a few feet left of a half-shuttered window, lined with papers and a few picture frames. A heavy-set wardrobe was shoved into the corner, just behind the armrest of the couch she was apparently bundled up on. And standing by the door, hanging her hat on the stand, was a blonde woman giving her a concerned look.

"Who...?"

"Name's Yang." She held up a first aid kit. "Look, you weren't in a good place when I found you. I kinda... need to look at your injuries."

Blake frowned for a moment, glancing down at the blanket around her body. With a sigh, she pulled it off--and then dragged it back on with a blush. "You took my dress off while I was sleeping?!"

"I took your dress off because you were bleeding," Yang said, awkwardly rubbing her cheek. "Hard to, uh, treat stab wounds through clothes. It's... in the dresser there..."

Blake's brows furrowed for a moment. "...right. Right..." She turned her head away, eyes glancing between the dresser and the blonde. "Okay...."

Taking a deep breath, she lowered the blanket down to cover her lap.

Yang nodded, approaching her slowly and kneeling down. "So I'm going to take off your bandages," she explained, opening the kit and putting on rubber gloves. "Apply some cleaner cream and wrap you up again. Honestly I kind of want to take you to a hospital but," she added at Blake's sharp inhalation, "I'm guessing you might want to keep a low profile for a bit."

Blake nodded, a quiet hiss escaping her lips as the bandages were peeled away. "I'll be fine. I have aura."

"Huh," said Yang.

Belatedly, Blake realized what she'd just admitted to. "My parents were always a bit overprotective," she explained. "You know how it is."

"Yeah, I can get that." Yang set aside the dirtied bandages, carefully applying a cool gel to the area around the gash. "God knows sometimes I want to keep my sister in a bunker somewhere. Not that I would, of course. She deserves to have her own life."

"...yeah..." Blake wrapped her arms around her chest, looking over the picture frames on the desk.

"So, you got anybody you want to call?" Yang asked. "Cause I can put up with you for a few days, but if you've got a place to rest--"

"No. No..." Blake shook her head. "I... I'll find something."

"Ahuh..."

"...how did you find me, anyway?"

Yang shrugged, pulling out a new set of bandages. "I was walking by an alley, noticed you sitting there, and when I realized you were unconscious I brought you to my office."

"You noticed me," Blake deadpanned. "Behind a stack of crates."

"Half-behind. You were kinda slumped out on the ground."

Blake looked down at her, narrowing her eyes. "Why were you walking by that alley anyway?"

Yang smirked up at her, tightening the bandages. "Well now, is this an interrogation?"

"...guess it was a stupid question," she admitted. "Just walking late at night."

The blonde tied the bandages and stood up. "Not stupid. Paranoid, maybe, but after what you've been through I can get why you'd be cautious."

"What do you mean, ‘after what happened'?"

Yang gave her a wry grin. "You got stabbed, hon. I don't know how, but I do know that leaves scars on the body _and_ the heart."

"Right, I..." Blake shook her head. "Sorry. Just... yeah, I guess... I mean, I just woke up with a strange woman who took off my clothes while I was asleep. And I get that you had your reasons," she added quickly, "but..."

"Not the best introduction," Yang admitted.

"No, not really."

For a moment the two of them just stared at each other, not quite sure what to say.

"Sooooo..." Yang rubbed the back of her head. "Ordinarily I'd buy somebody dinner _before_ I took off their clothes, but maybe... better late than never?"

Blake quirked an eyebrow.

"Whoa, no, I mean like, not like that!" she assured her quickly. "I mean, uh, just--kind of a way to say I'm sorry for, you know, taking... off your clothes... even though I needed to... yeah..."

She trailed off, shrugging awkwardly as her eyes fell on the ground.

Blake looked down at the blanket covering her lap, and the fresh bandages wrapped around her. A small, inaudible sigh escaped her. "Well... I don't really have anything too formal to wear."

"That's alright, I can't really afford anyplace too formal to eat."

"Wonderful. Let me get the blood out of my dress before we--"

A faint buzz interrupted them, and Yang jumped to one of the filing cabinets; her fingers did something complicated with the lock, too fast for Blake to notice, and she pulled the drawer open briefly, taking a look inside before shutting it and turning around.

"So some cops are going to be here in a few minutes," she said casually.

Blake tensed. "How do you--?"

"I can hide you, if you like."

That threw her off balance. She stared at the blonde, gaping.

"When I said a few minutes, I meant like three," Yang continued. "Going to need a yes or no soon. No pressure."

"I--" Blake took a breath. "I'd rather not talk to them until I know what I want to say," she said, forcing herself to calm down.

Yang nodded. "Yeah, got it." She held out her hand. "You're not claustrophobic, are you?"

Blake took it cautiously. "...no...?"

"Good." With that, Yang brought her to the dresser, opening it--and Blake barely had time to boggle at the door in the back before the blonde slid the _side_ of the dresser aside, revealing a tiny cubbyhole that she crammed Blake into, shoving her own dress into her hands. "Don't make a sound, no matter what you hear. I know how to talk to these guys, trust me."

Blake blinked in bafflement before the wooden panel slid in front of her, leaving her in a tight space with only the smallest line of light at her toes.

Then the panel opened again and Yang put Blake's shoes in her hands. "Can't let them see those."

Then the panel shut again.

Blake took a deep breath and settled in to wait.

* * *

Yang flipped the cushions on the couch and rolled the blanket up tightly, stuffing it into a compartment in the desk just as there was a knock at her door. Schooling her face into a grin, she sauntered over and casually swung it open. "Well, if it ain't Captain Cloves! And who's this pretty lil' thing?"

"Cadet Penny Polendina, ma'am!" The ginger smiled. "If you don't mind, we'd like to ask you some questions."

"Yes I'm single, yes they're real, yes I could tell you some stories later, but I buy my own drinks. That answer any of them?"

"Not at all!" Penny replied brightly.

Yang whistled. "Didn't even blush! You've got a keen one here, Cloves."

Clover sighed. "Yang, you know why we're here--"

"Ah ah ah!" The blonde held up a finger. "I know the tricks, too! I can't know for certain till you spell it out."

The man adjusted his hat. "Alright... what do you know about the murder that happened at the bookstore on seventh street?"

"That you are just now confirming it was a murder."

Clover pinched his brow. "Alright... fine. Why were you there?"

Yang tilted her head. "Why was I where, officer?"

"We have a confirmed report that you stepped into the crime scene while we were setting up the investigation."

"Oooooooooh," Yang said, as though a realization had only just occurred to her. "Yeah, just walking by, saw a bunch of cops, got curious. I didn't touch anything."

Clover crossed his arms. "...That's it."

"That's what happened."

"You did suggest I.D.ing the murder victim before it became public," Penny pointed out.

"I did!" Yang agreed. "How'd that work out?"

"We were able to--"

"Penny," Clover interjected in a warning tone, shaking his head subtly when she gave him a confused look.

Yang saw the hurt look on Penny's face and sighed. "She's real fresh, isn't she?"

"I'm showing her the ropes," Clover agreed.

"What, personally?" Yang quirked an eyebrow. "And you've got her on a murder right off the bat?"

Clover shrugged. "It happens sometimes."

Yang nodded. "So... Penny. How do you think the guy died?"

"The evidence suggests--"

"He was murdered," Clover interjected.

Yang didn't even look at him, keeping her eyes on the girl.

Penny glanced up at the captain, before returning her eyes to the blonde. "...The victim was shot repeatedly before or while being slashed at with a blade, which was eventually used to impale them. Aside from a single shot to the heart, the gunshot wounds were not aimed at vital organs, but the slashes did mitigate the victim's ability to retaliate against their assailant. The impalement wound matches a scratch groove in one of the shelves. From this I can deduce the victim attempted to defend themself from an assailant with both a firearm and a bladed weapon, and the assailant had to pin him with the weapon before being able to shoot him in the heart."

Yang whistled. "Observant _and_ intelligent. Why'd you join the cops?"

"I want to protect people."

"Ah." Yang's smile grew sad. "Well, I'll be rooting for you, cadet Polendina."

"Thank you!" Penny said with a grin.

Clover put a hand on her shoulder firmly. "Don't get distracted, Cadet. We're here to ask what miss Xiao Long was doing at the crime scene."

"I told you, I saw the cops around, got curious, stepped in for a look, and backed out."

"And that's all you did?" Clover pressed.

Yang rolled her eyes. "That's all I did."

With a small sigh, Clover adjusted his hat. "Alright. If you find out anything else, you know how to reach me."

"Yeah, I do. Oh, before you go--" Yang reached into her pocket and pulled out a small card, giving it to Penny. "My number. You know, in case you ever need my help."

"Thank you, miss Xiao Long!" Penny took the card with a polite smile. "Have a pleasant day!"

"I'll try to, kid."

Yang leaned against the doorframe, waving as the cops wandered off. It wasn't until they entered the elevator that she leaned back with a sigh, shutting the door.

"Of course. Of friggin' course, it'd be Clover..."

* * *

Blake frowned as the panel in front of her was slid aside.

"...right..." Yang rubbed the back of her head. "So, there was this murder on seventh street, and I looked at the place."

Blake didn't let up her flat look.

"...and I noticed a little blood on a door leading to the backroom, so I checked out the alley next to it, and kinda figured out that there had to be somebody the murderer didn't get rushing out and so I may possibly have done a lit-tle tracking of my own."

"Across a city."

"Yeah, I'm actually a pretty good P.I." Yang sighed, backing off. "Look, I'm not going to ask you what happened. No strings, no behind-your-back tattling to the cops. All I want is for the city to be safe, and I've had enough run-ins to know that sometimes that means... letting things lie."

Blake stepped out of the wardrobe, still eyeing the woman warily. "Really. You're just going to let this go."

"For now. I mean, if you show up at another murder scene, then I'll have to ask some questions, but right now?" Yang shrugged expansively. "Far as I know, you're a random girl who got caught up in the crossfire."

For a moment, Blake stared at her, schooling her expression. "But you still want to know what happened."

"I'm not on the case. Officially, I don't have any reason to press." Yang paused, rubbing her arm. "If... you wanted to, you could hire me to track down the killer and get them locked up. I can give you a discount, since you were there."

Blake looked down at the torn dress in her hands.

"...I'll think about it," she decided. "After we get something to eat."

"Sounds good." Yang walked into the wardrobe and opened the door, revealing a small den. "Why don't I get you something else to wear before we go? I know a place that serves the best turkey sandwiches..."

A few hours later, Blake found herself in front of the warmly lit windows of a small cafe... Café de Calavera, or at least that was what was written on the filigreed blue skull over the door. She followed her host in, golden eyes flicking around the oaken tables and benches lining the interior. An array of mock Grimm skulls caught her attention, and she walked over to the wall they hung from. To her bemusement, each skull had a plaque, labeling not only what dark creature they mimicked but also providing advice on how to handle them.

In contrast to the dark implications of the wall, the bistro itself was set in homey shades of brown with calming cushions of blue on the seats. There were faint tracings of abstract bones on the tiles beneath her shoes, a scent of chocolate in the air, and a short old woman who hadn't been there before looking at her with a strange set of cybernetic goggles.

"Oh! Um. Sorry, I was... looking for a menu."

The woman pointed at the very simple chalkboard hanging about the counter. "I sell shakes, snacks, and sandwiches."

"Right. Missed that. Uh..." Blake looked over the options. "I'll have a salmon sandwich and a strawberry shake?"

"And I'll have the usual," Yang added, throwing a few lien cards on the counter.

The old woman quirked a brow. "New girlfriend?"

"Maria," Yang reprimanded with a small grin.

"She _is_ wearing your shirt." The woman glanced lower. "And pants. And socks."

"How the hell do you know what my socks look like?!"

The old woman smirked, walking back to the kitchen without answering. "I'll have your orders out in a minute!"

Yang snorted. "Creepy woman."

"You're one to talk."

"Oh?"

Blake crossed her arms. "Why do you have a secret chamber to stuff half-naked women into in your office?"

"Oh, that?" Yang led her to a booth with a laugh. "Yeah, my sister is pret-ty kooky. She's the one that's always ‘finding space' and redesigning things."

Blake quirked her brow as she sat down across from her. "Never heard anybody try to pin their hidden rooms on their sister before."

"Really?" Yang rested her chin on her hand. "Comes up often, does it?"

Once again, Blake realized she'd let slip another minor detail about her past. She shut her eyes tightly. "I'm... having an off day."

Yang nodded sympathetically. "This morning has been a whirlwind for you, hasn't it?"

"You could say that."

"...hey." Yang reached across the table, putting her hand on Blake's. "I know we just met and you have, well, basically _no_ reason to trust me. But I can help you get back on your feet, if you want me to."

Blake sighed. "I don't think you know what you're offering."

"I mean I'd have to pull a few strings, sure--"

"You don't even know who I am!" Blake insisted, pulling her hand back.

"...Faunus. Female presenting. Late teens, possibly early twenties. Performed acrobatic escape with a gut wound. Active aura. Knowledgeable about hidden rooms. Does not want to deal with officials. Some degree of sass even while dealing with recent trauma. From the dress I found you in, I can guess you either have a lot of money yourself or have wealthy associates, and from the adjustments, not counting the parts you tore off to bandage yourself, I can tell the dress was meant to make you a look-piece but you had it altered to provide yourself a range of freedom."

Blake stared at her, wide-eyed.

"Private investigator," Yang explained. "Detail-oriented."

"...you still don't know who I am," Blake grumbled defiantly.

"I can hazard a guess, if you'll let me."

"Do you just want to show off?"

Yang smiled wryly. "Maybe a little."

Blake rubbed her temples between her thumb and forefinger. "...Alright, let's see what you got."

"Aura and acrobatics suggest athletic training intended for survivability," Yang began, leaning back in her seat. "Could make you a city-hopper, maybe a smuggler if you know about hidden rooms and want to avoid the cops, but that wouldn't explain the dress. Bought fancy, sure, but altered for acrobatics?" She shook her head. "Whoever got it didn't know you well enough to get you something fit for _you."_

She paused, noticing how Blake was glancing away with her ears folded back.

"...Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject--"

"Huh?" Blake blinked, looking back. "Oh. It's... more complicated than that."

Yang nodded slowly.

"...you were, uh... deducing?"

The blonde hummed for a moment, but apparently decided to accept the deflection without question. "So, the dress doesn't make sense for a city-hopper, plus you would have just said you were one when you told me you had aura instead of throwing out the story about overprotective parents. Suggests to me that wherever you got your aura unlocked, you don't want to talk about it--probably because it's the kind of place that the cops would be _very_ interested in. Throw in the knowledge of hidden rooms and we're talking an underground society."

"That's an interesting conclusion," Blake offered neutrally.

"Probably one of the mafias, which would make you an enforcer, but then we come back to the dress. Fancy, meant to make you a look-piece, suggests the one who got it for you wanted to show you off." Yang held up a finger. "So my thought is you were seduced into this group by this person, and then decided you wanted to be useful so you got yourself trained up and the dress altered. But then whatever happened yesterday happened and, from how listless you've been acting, it involves another enforcer from the same group attacking you, and now you don't know what to do because this has been your whole life for a while now and you're feeling betrayed and confused."

She folded her hands. "How far off am I?"

Blake stared at her.

She kept staring, even as the old woman arrived, set their plates and drinks on the table, looked between them, and walked off with a chuckle.

She kept staring, even as Yang reached for her drink and started sipping it.

She kept staring, even as her own hand absently picked up her own drink and brought it to her lips.

Eventually, she found her voice again. "I... don't know whether to be impressed or terrified."

Yang half-choked on her drink, putting it down and gagging quickly to get her throat under control. "Uh, wow. Sorry! I didn't... I wasn't trying to scare you."

"It's not every day you meet somebody that can tell you your life story from just a few slip-ups," Blake pointed out.

"Yeah, I try not to abuse my gifts," Yang said, rubbing her head awkwardly. "I mean, use them for good and all that." She cleared her throat. "So! Like I said. I can help you get back on your feet. If you want it."

"I'll... consider that."

* * *

Ilia dragged her hand down her eyes, taking a breath and forcing her black and blue freckles back to their usual tan. "Damn it all, Blake, where the hell are you?"

She knew better than to check her usual haunts--the White Fang had eyes in most of them, and a few lieutenants were already sweeping some of the normal runaway spots. The problem was, she had no idea where _else_ to look. Concordance city was a big place, with every one of its districts having nooks and crannies beyond count--only some of which ever made it to official maps, and a few that never got inked in even on the less public outlines.

At least the cops hadn't figured out what happened at Tukson's. Or, well, they didn't have any leads on who to pin the blame on yet. But of course, Squeaky Clean Clover had taken personal interest in the case, so there was no way this would all blow over...

Ilia clenched her fists as the image of that oh-so-perfect face jumped back into her memory. Oh, sure, he encouraged all the kids in class to work hard and find their calling, like it was just that easy! The worst thing was he seemed to actually believe it, to actually think the world worked on some sort of... cosmic fairness scale, and that there was no way the laws of Concordance city could ever be wrong.

Stupid condescending self-absorbed--

Ilia shoved the thought into the back of her head, shutting her eyes as the gold faded from her freckles. When she opened them again, they weren't a burning red but their usual, professional grey. She had to find Blake, preferably before the more... zealous members of the organization did. It wasn't that she was protecting a traitor, obviously, it was just... Sienna Khan should be able to deliver her verdict properly. It would be wrong otherwise.

It would be wrong...

So. No idea where to begin looking. But... an idea _how._

There were plenty of P.I.s in the scrollbook, and cutting out the ones the Fang had backlisted reduced the number... although not as much as Ilia had anticipated, which was reassuring in some ways and annoying in others. She'd put some thought into it and, reluctantly, cut out the ones that the Fang had their fingers on--they'd probably look into the Fang haunts like all the other agents, and if she knew Blake she wouldn't fall for such an obvious trap. On a whim, Ilia cut out all the men and, after some thought, shunted people from Solitas, whittling down her selection as far as she could.

It wasn't hard to cross-reference costs and reviews after that, and Ilia wound up with thirteen or so affordable people that at least seemed good at what they did. She checked over her list again, taking one last look around the dingy corner store, and tapped the number into her scroll.

_"Hello, you have reached Yang Xiao Long, Private Investigator. Helping hands and free advice, that's what I've got to give. What's your name, what's your problem, and what are you willing to pay?"_

"Straight to the point," Ilia mused. "Sorry, my name's Ilia Amitola and I'm looking for a friend of mine."

_"I don't help stalkers. Just a heads up."_

Ilia rolled her eyes. "I'm not a stalker."

_"Mmm."_

"Look... my friend's gone missing," she explained. "And a lot of people are looking for her, because... she may have caused a lot of trouble when she left."

_"Need a name, hon."_

"Blake Belladonna. Young adult, black hair, golden eyes, eastern descent. Tend to wear fancy black dresses."

For a moment, there was silence from the scroll.

_"Mmmkay. So do you think this Blake girl was kidnapped, or did she run off on her own?"_

Ilia considered her reply carefully. "...My gut says she ran."

_"Well, then you're going to have to accept you might not get her back."_

"Excuse me?"

_"Look Ilia, people run when they don't feel safe. And if this Blake girl didn't feel safe with her friends, if she thought one of ‘em would hurt her, she mightn't be willing to head back to the place where they hang out."_

"But--"

_"Hey, I'll still look for her. Heck, you sound like you care for her, so I'll give ya a discount. But if I find her, I'm not going to call you straight off the bat. I'll tell her the truth: That Ilia Amitola wanted me to find her, and that she said ‘a lot of people' were looking for her. And if this Blake girl doesn't want to talk to you, or thinks maybe talkin' to you will tip off the people she's runnin' from, then that's it. Book closed."_

Ilia glared at the scroll for a few seconds. Then, reluctantly, she sighed. "Yeah, you know what, that's fair. Just..." She paused for a moment. "...her... boyfriend... he's saying some stuff. Saying she's the one who, uh... caused the trouble. That's really upsetting some people."

_"I'll pass the message along, if I find her."_

"Thanks--"

_"And if I'm paid."_

Ilia sighed. "Of course."

_"Girl's gotta make a living. Now I figure this is a missing person case, the rate for those is a couple pinks, but I said I'd give you a discount so let's say a blue and a pink by the hour in the office, plus hazard pay if I get scraped up on the streets."_

"...I guess that works..."

_"Send me the funds, and I'll get to work right away."_

"Alright. Thank you."

_"Not a problem, miss Amitola."_

* * *

Yang shut off her scroll, eyes still locked on the woman across the table who'd frozen midbite.

"So," she said casually. "You going to finish that?"

The woman swallowed and, slowly, put the sandwich back down on the plate.

"Yeah, my line of work means I get the strangest calls at the strangest times," Yang explained casually. "Sorry if it disturbed you to hear any of that."

The woman continued to stare at her.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Look, hon, no matter how accurate my little deduction spree was, I'm not actually psychic. You're going to have to tell me what's going on in that noggin of yours or we're just going to be staring at each other all day. Not something I'm _opposed_ to," she admitted, "but I do have a job, so..."

"You... already know what I'm going to say," the woman said, slowly.

 _"Suspect,"_ Yang corrected. "I _suspect_ I know what you're going to say." She gave her a gentle smile. "Don't know for _certain_ if you never say it."

It was an out. Yang knew it, she could see the woman knew it, and she was pretty sure the woman knew she knew she knew it.

Carefully, the woman picked up her sandwich again, taking another bite and chewing it slowly.

She swallowed.

"...So... what do you think of the mafias?"

Yang leaned back thoughtfully. "You know, when I was a kid I had the same view most kids have. ‘The cops keep us safe, the mafias fight the cops, so the mafias are the bad guys.' Then I learned..."

She considered her next words carefully.

"...well... then I learned that somebody I respected, somebody very close to me, he'd been in one of them. He wasn't anymore, but the idea that a good guy could come from one of those places... That got me thinking."

The woman nodded carefully. "Facing the truth can be hard."

"Especially for a kid. Like... I think I was eight? Maybe seven." Yang hummed to herself. "So... the mafias. Organized crime. Right there in the word, organized. There's a reason for the groups, same as there's a reason for any other organization, and the reason kind of influences what laws they'll break and why. So I'm willing to talk to _some_ of them."

The woman looked down at her sandwich. Yang let her mull over the words at her own pace; better that than pressuring her.

"...so..." She glanced around surreptitiously. "What about... the White Fang? What do you think of them?"

A familiar flash of anger and pain and fear was shoved back down before it reached Yang's face, but she still had to take a moment to compose herself.

"...They're brutal," she said, "but fair, in their own way. I mean, I support faunus rights, but I don't have time to go after every single bigot in town. The White Fang does, and... at least they give warnings. They say exactly why they do what they do, and they'll back off if their target actually, you know, changes." She rubbed her arm. "But... they do rough people up. Even kill some of them. And in the big fights, there's almost always collateral damage. I get where they're coming from, but I can't really say I like them."

The woman across from her fiddled with her hair, not meeting her eyes as her ears fell flat.

She managed a wry little grin. "Plus, with them being so big in the news, everyone is just eager to pin every little crime on them. In my line of work, that leads to a lot of false leads. Which is just frustrating."

The woman's ears twitched up at that.

Yang glanced down at her own meal, picking up the sandwich and taking a bite. Maria's cooking was as good as ever, and a great momentary distraction from the tension that had fallen over the table.

"...did you..." The woman paused. "...did you mean what you said? About closing the book if I--if... a runaway asks."

Yang swallowed, looking up to meet her eyes. "I've done it before, I'll do it again. Don't ask me for details, it's always messy."

"I guess it would be..."

For a moment, the woman seemed to be debating with herself.

"I..."

She trailed off, looking at her sandwich.

Then she looked Yang in the eyes. "Did the White Fang ever hurt you?"

In reply, she lifted her metal hand. "There was a skirmish, I was keeping people safe, one of them cut off my right arm."

The woman stared at it.

"...The real question," Yang continued, "is if anybody else in the White Fang knows. If they condoned it, or... if the guy was just acting on his own. I don't know, but I was pretty clearly getting some kids out of there, so..." She shrugged. "Mafias have their own rules, I know that much. If what he did was cool by the White Fang playbook, then yeah, the White Fang hurt me. If it isn't, then it was just one man."

"You... you've thought about this a lot."

Yang nodded quietly. "Yeah. Something like this sticks with you."

* * *

Blake rubbed her arm, trying to assemble her words in her head. There was just so much going on, so much she had to say in so little time...

Her eyes darted toward Yang's metal hand--how had she not noticed that before? Her hand brushed against the bandages under her shirt. Her ears twitched at the sound of the cafe owner working in the kitchen. Her heartbeat accelerated, her breath grew short--

"Hey. Hey!" Yang reached across the table, taking her hand. "Take a moment, okay? Just breathe in slow, out slow."

Blake blinked. "What--"

"In slow..."

Hesitantly, she did so.

"...and out slow."

The air pushed out of her lungs, and Blake found her heart returning to its regular beat. The vague pressure of the room pulled back, fading as she returned to herself.

"I... I'm sorry, I don't know what--"

"No, it's fine!" Yang insisted. "It's fine. I know how it is, sometimes we all need... space to breathe." She gave Blake a sympathetic smile. "And I'm guessing you're having a _really_ bad morning."

"...the morning's been okay," Blake admitted. "It was last night that was--"

_He shoved her back with a sneer. "I never thought you'd take a traitor's side."_

"--bad," she finished, her voice dropping.

Yang nodded, gently pulling her hand back. "If you need to talk about it..."

Blake found her gaze drifting back toward Yang's metal hand. Maybe it had looked like a glove at first? It was well-made... perhaps even hand-crafted. How had she not noticed it? It was obvious now, but...

She forced her eyes away, looking at the woman's face. There was sympathy there, a small encouraging smile... and the lilac eyes met her own, not flicking up to her ears or down to her bandages, focusing right on her.

"...so..." Blake took a breath. "I... may or may not be a member of the White Fang."

"Mmhmm...?"

Blake carefully assessed Yang's expression. "More specifically, I may no longer be a member of the White Fang after last night." She swallowed. "When my... partner... murdered a man."

"Ah."

"And stabbed me for..." Blake cleared her throat. "...objecting."

Yang inhaled slowly, and just as slowly exhaled. "Sounds like a hell of a night."

Blake wrung her hands. "Yes, well..."

She paused.

Slowly, she put her hands on the table, looking Yang straight in the eyes. "What he did? It's not in the playbook."

A smirk crawled its way onto Yang's face. "So... whatcha gonna do ‘bout it, hon?"

"I'm going to make sure he gets kicked off the team," Blake replied. "Call Ilia back. Tell her Blake wants to talk to her at your office."

"Sure thing. Just, uh--" Yang gestured at her plate. "Can I finish my food first?"

Blake blinked. "...uh, yeah. Sure."

"Thanks. And don't worry," Yang winked, "we'll give this guy what he deserves."

* * *

"You know, my sister's not a bad tailor. She might be able to fix up that dress. Or make you a new one."

Blake sighed. "I appreciate the thought, really, but... Ilia should see me in this. See what... happened, you know?"

Yang quirked an eyebrow. Personally, she agreed with Blake, but she wouldn't have been so comfortable to put her scars and shreds on display so soon...

"...Blake, can I ask you something personal?"

The woman's shoulders tensed, though she kept her expression composed. "Would I... have to answer?"

"No!" Yang said quickly. "No, just... I'm just... worried that this hasn't really hit you yet." Seeing Blake's confused blink, Yang adjusted her hat. "What I mean is, last night happened, well, _last night._ And what you're doing now, it's _incredibly_ brave, but you're also... throwing yourself full into this confrontation."

"Are you saying I shouldn't?"

"I'm saying... you got stabbed, and betrayed, and saw your partner kill somebody. And almost bled out, while freerunning for your life."

Blake lowered her eyes, deadpan. "It was more parkour than freerunning."

"My point is, have you even acknowledged your fear?"

"Fear is weakness," Blake replied automatically. "To be ignored."

Ah.

Yang crossed her arms, not so incidentally showing off the pinstripe black and purple metal on her right. "I mean you can't let it control you, sure, but pretending it doesn't exist..." She glanced down at her metal hand. "That's a surefire way to make dumb mistakes."

Blake looked at the arm for a moment, her eyes darting downward.

"...I don't... know if I'm afraid," she admitted. "I don't know what I'm feeling, anymore. It's... hard to feel, right now."

"Yeah, I've been there."

"I guess I'm just... falling back on old mantras. On what I know." She snorted. "Even if what I know is wrong..."

She trailed off.

"...Look, I'm with you on this, no matter what," Yang promised. "I just want to make sure you get through it without becoming a paranoid wreck. Okay?"

Blake gave her a wry smile. "What, I get you free of charge?"

Yang shrugged casually. "Eh, we can negotiate a payment plan _after_ we clean up this whole mess." She pointed a finger at a small yellow binder. "Think you'll find my rates pretty reasonable."

Blake, curiously, picked up the binder and opened it.

"...this is a cookbook."

"Is it?" Yang brushed off a sleeve. "Hadn't noticed."

"You want me to buy you food," Blake said flatly.

"After!" Yang held up a finger. "After we get this done. Don't know how much effort we're going to need to put into this little caper."

Blake rolled her eyes with a small smile, putting the binder back down. "Right, of course. So, when's Ilia supposed to be here?"

"Few minutes." Yang frowned quietly, noticing the distinct lack of buzzers. "So given a choice between elevator and stairs, would she take the stairs?"

"...maybe?"

That was annoying. She preferred to have an eye on her customers when they came in, just in case they were the kind to be packing heat. But without her elevator camera...

Yang shifted slightly, letting her arms hang free. It wasn't that she didn't believe what Blake had told her. It was just... it could be hard to tell where kindness was overridden by loyalty.

But Blake took notice of her new stance, flicking her eyes away quietly. Yang sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

"We'll... play it by ear," she decided. "You can take the lead."

Blake looked back at her. "You, uh--"

Whatever she had been about to say was cut off by a knock on the door. Blake's eyes darted toward it, even as she sat herself down on the sofa. At Yang's questioning look, she nodded toward the door.

"Right." With a bit more swagger than she felt, she opened the door.

The woman outside was, by some cosmic coincidence, just tall enough to be greeted by her pinstriped bristols. Her eyes went green, then pink, then yellow with pink freckles, and then she blinked twice, her colors snapping back to their initial hue so quickly that if Yang hadn't been warned she wouldn't have noticed them in the first place.

"You're Yang Xiao Long?" she asked as she looked up at the blonde.

"Depends on who's asking," the woman replied, suppressing a knowing smirk.

"Ilia Amitola. We spoke on the scroll..."

"Mmmhm."

"It's her," Blake confirmed. "Let her in?"

Yang stepped aside, gesturing Ilia through the door before casually shutting it. "Sure thing, Blake."

Ilia sighed in relief when she saw the woman half lying on the couch. "You're okay!"

Blake snorted. "For a given value of okay."

"I've been--" Ilia's eyes flicked toward Yang, who leaned against the filing cabinets casually. "Everyone's been worried sick," she tried instead. "You just... up and vanished!"

"Actually I was stabbed," Blake said flatly. "Adam didn't like it when I said he shouldn't kill Tukson."

Yang quirked an eyebrow as Ilia went very, very still.

* * *

"We had an agreement."

Soft was not a word often associated with danger. Soft was meant to be comforting, to be relaxing. Soft should have been a cause for rest. And yet...

"One which you have upheld for so long..."

The words were soft. Soft, almost gentle, and just lightly, lightly, tinged with the barest hint of disappointment.

"And yet... now... I find you faltering."

They were as soft and enveloping as the shadowy grip of the Chill themselves. And just as certainly filled with dark promise.

"There's been an incident," he explained.

"And what, pray tell, makes this incident so different from all the others?"

"Timing." He held himself upright. "I've already started to clean it up, but it will take a few days. And that means I won't be able to provide my support on time."

The voice was silent for a moment.

"...This is, perhaps, the first significant failure you have offered me. One from sources you claim outside your control."

"I can assure you that after this is cleaned up, I'll return to--"

"You can say all you like, but your actions will paint your future. I will continue to uphold my end of the bargain, until the day where I require recompense. If you do not grant what was agreed upon, I will withdraw my services."

"But--"

"I am," the voice continued, "always open to negotiating _another_ deal, of course."

He held his tongue, carefully going over his options in his head.

"I... may have a proposal."

"Really?" A delicate hand wrapped around the goblet of wine, lifting it up. "Do tell."


	3. Two Pair

"...we..." Ilia finally cleared her throat. "We should talk."

"We're talking now," Blake pointed out.

"Well, yes, but I mean--" Ilia flicked her eyes back to where Yang was casually leaning against the filing cabinets. "Maybe somewhere where we can... have some privacy?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "First of all, Yang saved my life--"

"Guilty," Yang admitted casually.

"--so she stays."

Ilia sighed, bringing her hands together. "Alright... but, uh, it's going to be hard to talk about some things with a stranger in the room. Some of this is... personal, and--"

"Also I already told her I'm in the White Fang."

Ilia dropped her hands with a flat look. "Really."

"Yep."

"Great." She pinched her brow. "Alright, I'll skip the subtlety: Adam's saying you're the one that killed Tukson."

Blake blinked, staring at her. "What? But--"

"And he's got supporters all through the Fang. If enough of them get together, you'll have to pack your bags."

Blake glanced toward the door, her thoughts on the wall of Concordance city... a wall that didn't seem so distant now.

"Huh." Yang rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I dunno, that seems way too fast to make this sort of decision."

Ilia gave her a flat glare. "You know, I'm trying to be serious here."

"Oh, so am I. Man was murdered, after all. And an innocent victim's going to be framed. I'm just saying, this all happened less than a day ago." She quirked an eyebrow. "Is this Adam guy really popular enough to get Blake chucked for his crime in under twenty-four hours?"

Blake blinked again, Yang's words sinking in. Could Adam convince enough people to force her to leave...? The more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed. Maybe in a week's time, if she was generous, but...

"It doesn't matter if it takes him a month," Ilia pointed out. "If Adam gets enough people on his side, then Blake has to go."

"And if Sienna backs me against him, it could cause a schism." Blake groaned, running her hand through her hair. "But going to her's the only chance I've got to keep him off my back."

Yang nodded. "So we go to Sienna."

 _"You,"_ Ilia said flatly, "aren't coming with us."

"She's coming."

Ilia turned, looking at Blake with disbelief. "What?!"

"She saved my life," Blake repeated. "Heard me out. Offered to protect me. And now you're saying Adam's got members of the Fang planning to chuck me out?"

"...Blake," Ilia began cautiously, "you're talking about bringing a _human_ to a meeting with the leader of the _White Fang."_

Blake rolled her eyes. "No, I mean Yang's going to follow me anyway, so it's better to keep her where we can see her."

"This is true," Yang admitted with a grin.

Ilia groaned. "Blake--"

"Ilia... please."

"...Ugh. Fine." She threw her hands up in the air. "Fine! This is going to end horribly, I just know it, but sure, let's just all be the worst kind of idiot about this!"

"You seem stressed," Yang noted.

Ilia glowered at her. "Shut up. Seriously: Shut up. If you're going to meet Sienna Khan, then being _quiet_ is your best bet at surviving."

Yang mimed zipping her lips with a playful grin.

* * *

Some people said Concordance was nine cities shoved into one. It wasn't an entirely inaccurate statement; the old kingdoms of Vale and Grove had very distinct styles of building even before the Angor accords were signed. The original founders just had to build to their own style, attempting to impress each other and the world with their great architecture and purpose. The spokes, as the locals called them, were cores for prosperity and culture, while the hub served as a unifying call to a greater future.

Of course, the further one got from each shining beacon, the more muddied things became. Decades of overlapping development and constant adaptation to newcomers had left meandering regions where styles merged and split and changed on a whim, splintering the city into several dozen semi-official districts that could baffle even the long-time citizens.

Still, Yang admitted to herself quietly, it was useful to figure out where you were. Especially after being escorted through who knew how many abandoned subways while blindfolded.

The straight wood pillars looked like something from Ancora--not surprising--but the carvings in the wall were of Mistralian dragons. Guardians of the northern river, if she recalled--though she suspected the pearls were white originally, instead of the red shine they had now. Yang hoped whoever carved those dragons passed long ago; they would probably not be pleased by the paint job.

"...and so, by my right, I request the removal of Adam Taurus from our ranks."

Yang turned her attention back to the conversation, and back to the woman silently peering over them on her throne. Sienna Khan's eyes looked upon them with the intensity of golden magma, her hands interlaced to obscure the rest of her expression. There was... a tense relaxation to her pose, a focus on hiding whatever thoughts she might have running between her dangerously folded striped ears.

"So," she said finally. "Each of you blames the other. But while Adam returned to make his claim, you... ran."

Blake's ears folded back. "...I... can give no excuse for my cowardice."

Yang cleared her throat. "I'd just like to point out that she was stabbed by a man who, if I'm reading this situation correctly, just betrayed all the trust she had placed in him--"

"And you bring a human with you," Sienna noted dryly, idly holding up a hand to forestall the guards who had just stepped forward.

Blake glanced back at Yang for a moment. "She has proven herself to me."

Ilia rolled her eyes. "You just met her today."

"And she showed more concern and care to me in the few hours I have known her then Adam has ever shown to the faunus he claims to protect."

Sienna quirked an eyebrow at that. Her molten eyes turned to focus on Yang, hands lowering to show her unamused expression. "There are many things I could ask you, human. Where you found Blake. Whether _I_ should trust you. What you would offer in exchange for leaving this place with your life." She let her ears rise as she leaned back into her throne. "But I wonder... what is it _you_ think I should ask?"

Yang hummed to herself quietly. "...The White Fang, as I understand it, seeks to protect faunus from those who would... exploit them. You want to know that I'm not using this situation, that I'm not using Blake, for whatever my own purposes are. So I'd say you should ask me why I helped her out."

The woman considered her thoughtfully. "Indeed. This whole situation requires insight into... verisimilitude."

She turned back to Blake, interlacing her fingers. "When Adam presented his case, he pled for your life. Claimed that he could reign in your treacherous ways, given time."

Blake tensed, and Yang couldn't blame her for that.

"You, on the other hand, want Adam out. And you make this... request," Sienna mused, "after bringing a human into our sanctum." She brought the tips of her index fingers together, inhaling quietly. "Far, far more extreme a reaction."

Yang noticed Blake's ears folding back, her head beginning to bow, and without thinking took a step forward. Sienna's sudden glare halted her for a moment, but only a moment; she locked her lilac eyes on the pools of golden magma, holding the woman's look as she approached Blake. Only when she was beside her did she break her gaze, raising a hand and putting it on Blake's shoulder; when she looked at her, startled, Yang gave her a reassuring squeeze and a gentle smile.

"...Perhaps," Blake admitted, "my request is too extreme."

She steeled herself, stepping forward out of Yang's grasp and focusing on the throne. "But Adam's actions cannot go unaddressed. Too many groups, too many organizations fall to ruin because they favor power over intent. We fight for a world where the faunus are not abused, not cast aside, but what good are our claims if we allow our own to act as bestial as our detractors denounce?"

Sienna Khan shut her eyes. She said nothing, for a moment or two.

"...a warden is dead. Our eye in the city, our hand to those who don't know how to seek us out. And his home is being pored over by one of the most frustratingly stringent officers on the force. I have had to pull many of our agents into the shadows, and set many more to lay low until I can be assured this thread will not unravel the entire White Fang." She put her palms together. "Either you are responsible for this, or you let the man actually responsible return to us. That's the reality of the situation, no matter how right you might be."

"Commandant Khan--"

Sienna stood, cutting off Blake's statement with a wave of her arm. "You have put me in a difficult position, operator Belladonna. I cannot let this murder of one of our own, by one of our own, go unanswered. Yet were I to punish Adam I would risk the ire of his more zealous supporters, and were I to punish you I might lose the support of Ancora." 

Yang kept her face still by sheer force of will, but she felt her heart curling in disbelief. Blake was important enough to have leverage in _Ancora?_ And this Adam guy had _still--?!_

"And to punish you _and_ him not only risks both happening, but paints me as indecisive," Sienna continued, walking down the steps of her dias. "All results which could destroy our organization from within."

She stopped in front of them, rubbing her chin. "Though... you have pointed out the real danger of letting the murderer, _whomever they might be,_ walk free to further warp the White Fang. Something Adam failed to do."

Blake exhaled softly. "...I wish only to better lives for all faunus, commandant."

"So you say."

Sienna gave Yang a contemplative look. Yang met her gaze again, slowly raising an eyebrow. Sure, it might not have been the best idea, but she knew how to stand her ground... perhaps a little too well.

The woman, apparently, found what she was looking for and turned her eyes back on Blake. "This incident has broken quite a bit of trust. The White Fang will need something to regain that trust. You and Adam will be granted a chance to prove your worth to us." She held up a hand to forestall Blake's response. "You each have one week to obtain the resources and leverage we'll need, and you will both be assigned an observer to determine if your actions fit the needs of our organization."

Blake brought her hands together, bowing her head with them. "I accept your foresight with gratefulness."

"Mmm." Sienna turned back to Yang. "You, miss Xiao Long, are in a position to be quite the problem for the White Fang. Few would blame me for slitting your throat right now."

Yang put a hand on her hip, giving her a cocky smirk. "And here I thought you'd choke me instead."

Ilia's hair went green with shock, her eyes and freckles going pink while her skin shifted to a bright red.

"Yang!" Blake hissed sharply, glancing around the room at the suddenly tense guards.

"I might," Sienna replied, only the faintest twitch of her lips betraying her amusement. Her voice and face quickly fell to level sternness. "You were granted a chance to choose your question. Now I insist you answer it."

"...I helped Blake," Yang began, "because I saw she needed help. Because even though I knew nothing about her, I could see she was tenacious, that she could do anything she set her mind to, if her wounds did not consume her. I saw a brave, daring woman, thrust into a situation she could not handle, and chose to offer her refuge while she healed. And now, seeing how she has brought her case before you, I know for certain what I have suspected--the world will be greater for her action."

Silence seeped into the room, and out of the corner of her eye Yang caught sight of Blake hiding her face behind her hair.

Sienna crossed her arms. "And it's not because she's hot."

"WHAT?!" squeaked Blake.

Yang blushed furiously, but kept Sienna's gaze. "The fact that she's hot did not influence my decision."

"Um," said Ilia, green highlighting her now decidedly pink skin.

"Hmm," said Sienna, her face stoic.

Yang took a breath and risked a gamble. "You knew who I was when you saw me, didn't you."

"I did," the woman admitted without shame.

"Right." The blonde dragged a hand down her face. "Yes, fine, I'm going to help Blake on this quest you assigned her."

Sienna Khan smirked knowingly. "Oh, I suspected as much."

* * *

When Sienna Khan had told Blake exactly what she needed to do, she had to take a moment to process the request--and then another moment when she realized just how unsurprised Yang seemed to be. She'd kept calm, even as she accepted the missive, and led a blindfolded Yang back to the surface without ever once letting her face show the emotions racing through her head.

Once they were partway down the road, though, she released a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding. "I think that was the most terrifying thing I have ever done."

"Same," Yang admitted. "I've only ever talked to a mafia boss twice before."

Ilia gave her a baffled look. "You've talked to another mafia boss?"

"Two, actually. Separate occasions." Yang hummed quietly. "You know what, that's all in the past."

Blake shook her head, still focused on the task set before her. "We... we're going to need help. Gear. And... some sort of plan." She clutched at her side as another pang went through it. "Preferably a plan that doesn't hinge on us fighting anyone."

"I know somebody that could probably help with about half of all that," Yang offered. "Seriously, she can hook us up with some amazing gear, no cost."

Ilia gave her a suspicious look. "No cost, no questions?"

"No cost, and no questions related to why we need the gear." Yang rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "But, uh, probably a lot of other questions... she's a chatty one. Good at keeping secrets, mind. Very chatty. She lives in the Mechanicus district, so we'll have to go across the city--."

Blake quirked an eyebrow. "Didn't that district explode five years ago?"

"I can personally promise you she had nothing to do with that," Yang assured her, turning a corner into a public garage. "Let me just get the sidecars hooked up to my bike, and we can go."

The ride over had been an interesting one--the first ride Blake had ever had on a motorbike (or in a sidecar), complete with quips from Yang, and strange looks from Ilia. The sun had just started to set when they entered the smoldering wreck that was the Mechanicus district, and they traveled through a complex weave of roads and rubble with almost no stops.

"....Ssssuuuuuooooooooo _ooooo_ oooooouoh," said Yang eventually.

Blake quirked an eyebrow. "I have never heard anybody pronounce ‘so' with seven syllables before."

"We're almost at her... place?" The blonde nodded to herself. "Let's call it a ‘place.' And I think I ought to warn you, she's..." She trailed off for a moment. "...a lot."

Ilia crossed her arms. "What do you mean by that?"

"It can be hard for her to open up, but when she does, well..." Yang shrugged as she pulled her motorbike over. "...do you know what an infodump is?"

"Vaguely."

"Yeah, well, she will just spew technical terminology like a gatling gun." Yang frowned to herself. "That is, if she gets interested in something. We may be able to get in and out without triggering anything, it's just... hard to guess where her interests lie." She gave the two others an awkward smile. "She really is a genius, don't get me wrong, but if she has an episode just... stay back and let me handle it?"

Blake paused in her own dismount, one hand still on the sidecar. "...We... could stay out here while you talk to her--"

"No, trust me, she needs to see you before she makes anything." Yang rubbed the back of her head. "Something about ‘ergonomics.' She refuses to make generic doodads, it's all custom made for whoever's getting it." She turned and hopped through a gash in a dilapidated brick wall.

Blake almost went to follow her, only to be halted by Ilia's gesture; she watched as her friend carefully stepped into the gash, vanished for a few minutes, and then stepped back out.

"It's clear."

"Right..."

Blake followed her through, lips pressed tightly together as she noticed the stiff way she was walking through the crates and rebar haphazardly strewn about. She tried to think of something to say, some way to reach out, but then they turned a corner and came face to fallen terrace with the blown-out, half-sagging remains of what had probably been a car factory at some point. Yang was puttering about a small yard of gravel strewn with tires of various sizes, glancing up at the flickering floodlights on occasion.

As the two of them walked over to join her, she clapped her hands together with a laugh. "Found it!"

Blake flicked an ear. "Found what?"

"The entry code," Yang said, gesturing at her discovery.

Ilia looked at it and frowned. "That's... a mobile made of partially destroyed license plates."

"Yeah, she likes to recycle."

"Aoyp...jl if... zrf..." Blake cringed. "We have to remember all this and punch it into a keypad somewhere?"

"What?" Yang blinked at her. "Oh! No no no, it's a cipher. See, the floodlight shining on the mobile," she gestured up behind them, "it's blinking the binary code for ‘seven.' Which means we need to replace each letter with the one seven places to the left in alphabetical order. Or... to the right...?"

She peered at the mobile carefully for a moment.

"...No, it's to the left, to the right is just gibberish."

Ilia rubbed her temples. "So if I understand this, this woman keeps her place safe using esoteric puzzles made of garbage."

Yang absently hummed affirmation, concentrating on the collection of letters. "...‘Thrice by Sky and Twice by Sea, Dance Flower Wings Lazuli.' Okay!"

Blake stared at the license plates. "A... riddle?"

"Yep."

"Of course it's a riddle," Ilia muttered as they followed Yang over to the wall. "Today's been all sorts of crazy, why not _this_ on top of _everything else?"_

Blake hummed quiet agreement, but stepped forward as Yang started running her hands on myriad graffiti. "So... I think we're looking for blue butterflies, right?"

"Hey, yeah!" Yang grinned. "You got that? Most people don't catch that."

"I mean, I still don't get ‘thrice by sky and twice by sea,' but the second verse was pretty obvious." Blake's eyes roved the wall for a moment, and she pointed to the left. "Over there, by the dumpster."

"Good catch!" Yang walked over to where Blake had pointed, leaning in with a smile. "Oh, and the silver circles on the wings have little Dust symbols on them."

Ilia walked over, trying to keep her expression professional. "Air three times, water twice?"

"Mmmyep." Yang tapped the circles in quickly. "Of course after this she's probably going to change the entryway again--"

The dumpster unfolded suddenly, lid and sides slamming out to reveal a grand staircase descending into the depths of the earth.

"Oh good, we have the dumpster staircase." Yang started walking down, gesturing for the two to follow. "It's one of the more comfortable ways in she's made. The less said about the refrigervator, the better." She laughed awkwardly. "And don't get me _started_ on the car-drop..."

* * *

Yang brushed past a bit of cabling, glancing at the wall carefully. No new seams this time around, which was probably a good thing...

She casually strolled through a familiar door, waving at the person standing inside with a grin. "Hey, long time no see! How are--"

"Wait a minute." Ilia glared and pointed. "You're Weiss Schnee!"

"No I'm not," said the girl with a scar over her left eye and long white hair coiled around her neck.

Ilia spun on Yang angrily. "Your contact is _Weiss Schnee?!"_

"First of all, she just said she's _not_ Weiss Schnee," Yang pointed out. "Secondly, no, _she's_ not my contact." She turned to the girl with a grin. "Can you tell my sister I'm here?"

The girl rolled her eyes, even as she obligingly walked toward a funnel on the wall. "How much trouble are you in this time?"

"Come on Blake, that's definitely Weiss Schnee, right?"

"Eh..." Yang waggled a hand. "Not as much as I _should_ be, but definitely not the amount of trouble I planned for this week."

"I mean... she's wearing suspenders, Ilia. Would Weiss Schnee wear suspenders?"

"Right." The girl pulled a lever next to the funnel. "Ruby, your sister's here!" Message delivered, she turned around and picked up a clipboard. "So I'm guessing you'll all need some gear for whatever it is you got caught up in."

"She looks exactly like Weiss Schnee! She _sounds_ like Weiss Schnee! SHE HAS HAIR LIKE WEISS SCHNEE!"

Yang shrugged. "Gear, help, any sort of plan... this literally got dropped on us just today, and we've got a deadline, so yeah. Seriously though, how are things?"

"This is an abandoned and apparently heavily modified car factory, what would Weiss Schnee be doing _here?"_

"As well as they ever are," the girl grumbled. "Ruby's in one of her brighter moods, so it's been a little hectic around here, but--"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off when the wall next to the funnel plunged into the ground, releasing a smokey bolt of red and black that slammed into the blonde with familiar force.

"YANG! You're here two point seven days earlier than scheduled which worries me even though I'm quite happy to see you is something wrong with your arm do you have a surprise for me let me take a look over this you don't seem to be carrying anything new and a quick analysis suggests your arm is functioning properly oh there are two people I haven't identified OH MY GOSH DID YOU GET DOUBLE MARRIED wait no you'd tell me if you got single married or at least I presume you would here's your arm back it's working well so you wouldn't surprise me with a double marriage is this another rescue situation I can have safe rooms ready for them in three hours Hi I'm Ruby Rose _Yang why didn't you remind me to introduce myself_ and this is my secret underground base laboratory home location or one of them anyway I think I have twelve right now no wait eleven there was that thing with the magnets Yang I've got to tell you about the magnets are you in serious trouble and this is my sister Yang Xiao Long wait why am I saying that you brought them here so of course they know you and this is my lab assistant Weiiiii..."

The girl-shaped mass of energy and enthusiasm caught sight of the white-haired girl waving her hands and shaking her head.

"...iii _iiiife!_ My lab assistant wife yeah we've been married for several years and have seven children two biological two adopted and three constructed and we love them very much and I love her because she is my wife also she helps keep me on track and wait now that I think about it you haven't told me why you're here and OH MY GOSH YOUR HAIR TURNED GREEN IS THAT YOUR SEMBLANCE?!"

"Uh--" Ilia managed, leaning back from the pair of smudged goggles that had stopped inches away from her face. "Well--"

"Because I'm doing research on unusual semblances well I say unusual but admittedly there doesn't seem to be a lot of research on standard semblances which means a lot of this is just speculation on my part still though as a semblance is a manifestation of aura which itself is a form of energy there are certain limitations I expect them to have but I've encountered semblances that break the rules well the rules that I derived for my theories like my own semblance is a very borderline case most other speed semblances seem to generate a field of energy like light or lightning or wind which is more the pushing of air which requires energy but the point is self-transformation such as one into a stream of petals is way outside the norm of semblances which would make your hair changing color why is it white now a very fascinating--"

"I'm a faunus!" Ilia blurted out. "Chameleon! I change color because I'm a chameleon faunus!"

The goggles jumped back and their owner clapped their hands together with a manic smile. "That makes even LESS sense!" she shrieked gleefully. "Chromatophores operate by shifting the size of their membranes to alter the wavelengths of light that can pass through them but to do so they need to be living material but hair is made out of dead cells so the fact that your hair changes color breaks biology on a cellular level which is a greater deviation then most known faunus traits--"

Yang, seeing Ilia's baffled terror, decided to take mercy and clapped her hands together twice. "Ruby," she said as her sister snapped her gaze to her, "what have I said about treating people like test subjects?"

Ruby tilted her head. "That people are socialized to presume unpaid utilization as data will devalue their identity as individuals?"

"So...?" Yang prompted, gesturing at Ilia.

Her sister looked at the woman, then at Yang, and then sudden realization spread on her smudged face. "OH! Oh. _Oh._ I'm sorry miss name unknown! I was just curious about the function of your hair follicles and did not mean to demean you as an individual. I will not conduct scientific research on your person without your consent." She stepped back twice, bouncing on her heels and keeping her hands tightly pressed against her hips.

"It's... Ilia." Ilia shook her head. "My name, it's Ilia."

"Okay Ilia I will remember that."

Blake sidled over to Yang. "Is she, uh... like this all the time?"

"Eh, it's a scale." Yang shrugged. "This is a four out of ten."

"A four." Blake glanced at the still vibrating Ruby. "Out of... ten."

"Mmmyep."

"Soooooooo," drawled the lab assistant wife. "Now that we've got all that out of the way... why exactly are you here again?"

Yang snapped her fingers. "Right, yeah! Okay." She smirked confidently. "We need to do a heist on the Alsius Casino."

* * *

"Sir?" Penny asked. "Why are we meeting Chief Ironwood in the Alsius Casino?"

"We need to report in on the Seventh Street case."

"Yes, but... why the casino? I do not understand the value in a police captain having an office there."

Clover shook his head. "A number of influential members of society have offices in the casino, cadet. Many of them for... less than reputable reasons. The captain having an office there reminds them that they cannot break the law without consequence."

"Oh." Penny considered this for a moment. "I do not think I understand."

"Realpolitik is a strange, bizarre mess of contradictions." Clover shook his head, even as he waved his badge at the heavily muscled men standing in front of the casino entrance. "The chief has a better understanding of this sort of thing than either of us."

Penny nodded slowly. "Is that why he is the chief?"

"That's right." Clover put a hand on her shoulder, leading her through the glitzy atrium and into a lift tucked inconspicuously behind a small turn. "He knows how to keep the peace the best of all of us."

Two, three, four doors down and he halted, knocking politely. "Chief?"

"Come in, please."

The duo entered the room, standing to attention in front of the desk. James Ironwood glanced up from his computer, clearing his throat as he stood. "Captain Clover. What is your assessment of the Seventh Street incident?"

"We have identified the victim as the owner of the shop. The murder took place at some point between twenty-two hundred and twenty-three thirty hours, from the state of the corpse. Evidence suggests it was a prolonged fight." He paused. "Our investigation also found... a torched room."

The police rose an eyebrow. "Torched?"

"Everything, from furniture to documents, piled into the center of the room and set on fire. It's possible that some things were taken from the vault and moved to the room before our culprit set them on fire--we did find some evidence of tampering. Nothing conclusive, though."

Ironwood sighed, rubbing his temples. "The implications are disturbing enough... And the timing of this whole thing is even worse."

Penny tilted her head. "Sir?"

"...A resource issue," the chief explained. "Ordinarily I'd be able to put my full support to this investigation, but another matter has come up."

Clover frowned. "I was unaware we were strained--"

"It's not that," Ironwood assured him. "It's another power-hungry politician trying to push another proposal that could cause another problem. Ordinarily I'd leave that to those up top, but they don't seem to be aware of how much trouble this can cause." He folded his hands together. "Still, we can't let this go unanswered."

"No sir," Clover agreed.

"And as skilled as Penny has proven herself," the chief continued, "she is still a cadet."

"I would be willing to assist the investigation in any manner possible--"

"I'm sure you would, Penny," the chief assured her. "However, Clover needs to focus on this, and splitting his attention between the investigation and training you might hinder his capability."

Penny frowned, bowing her head. "If... you are sure, sir."

"Don't worry, I'll have a new officer assigned to train you by the end of the week."

"Of course." Penny raised her eyes hesitantly. "And what am I to do in the interim?"

"Help me with some paperwork I need to organize." Ironwood smiled wryly. "It's not the most glamorous of jobs, but we always need data filed and compiled properly. And it might give you some experience on what to look for."

"...I will assist as much as I am able!"

"And I gladly welcome such assistance." The chief turned to Clover. "I trust you can find something more for me soon?"

"I'll check my leads," Clover promised. "You can count on me."

"I know I can." The chief nodded. "I know... I know I can. You are dismissed, lieutenant."

"Sir." Clover nodded, exiting the office.

Penny watched the door shut behind him, waving as he left, before turning back to the chief--who was reading something on his computer.

She waited for a few moments.

"...Sir?"

Ironwood blinked, looking at her.

"What paperwork needs filing?" she prompted.

"Ah. Yes, right." The chief shook his head, reaching into a drawer and producing a small key. "Go down the hall, we have a list of complaints against the casino to organize."

"I... presumed I would be assigned to the station, sir."

The chief shook his head. "Sorry, there's a lack of support staff here. Sometimes we have to make do with what we have."

"Very well." Penny took the key, saluting. "I will do my best to sort out the complaints by severity and urgency!"

"Of course. See to it, cadet."

Penny marched out the door, ready to do what she could to protect people... by... sorting through complaints against an institution for gambling. Perhaps not the most glamorous work, but somebody had to do it!

Even if she wasn't quite sure why.


	4. Five Of A Kind

"Why the hell are you doing this?!"

Yang sighed. "Because if I don't, Blake gets handed off to the guy that stabbed her."

"That's--that's bad," the white-haired girl admitted, "but... uh..."

"Go on." Yang crossed her arms. "I'll wait."

The white-haired girl sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay, fine, you've got a good reason to help and I know I'm not going to be able to talk you out of it. But the Alsius Casino--do you know what kind of security they have?! Trying to steal money from--"

"Oh we're not after the money. A bunch of high-rollers rent offices there." Yang leaned against a pillar. "We're after some sort of leverage or something. Way I figure it, we can get the info from an off-office easier than we can get it from where they usually head."

"That's even worse! The casino has official security that we can get info on, but the kind of people who'd rent an office there would definitely add more measures off the record!" The white-haired girl threw her arms wide in exasperation. "Can't you just, like, go into a corporate building and hack the servers there?"

"You're not thinking about this the right way, Wei--"

"Shhshshsh!" The girl glanced over her shoulder, watching Ruby demonstrate her gadgets to the uneasily interested faunus pair across the room.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Fine. ‘Lab Assistant Wife.' Yeesh."

"You know why I--"

"Yeah, yeah..." She brought a pair of fingers to her forehead. "Look, the reason Alsius has all that security is because nobody there trusts each other. We try to break into a corporate building, all the security is focused on us--one slip up, we're toast. The casino might have more security overall, but it's easier to pit the groups against each other if things go to the beowolves."

"You realize there's not likely to be anything really valuable at an off-office, right?"

"At one office? No. At a bunch of offices? A lot of little things can add up." Yang gave her a smile. "Besides, corporate buildings usually don't have a kitchen."

"Of course you're thinking with your stomach."

"Actually I'm thinking more ‘it's easier to sneak in if you pretend to be a waitress'. But hey, I could eat on the job, sure."

The white-haired girl crossed her arms. "You really think Alsius hasn't had who knows how many people try to infiltrate through the wait staff? They'd be ready for that sort of gambit."

"How many waitresses can change the color of their hair?"

"That's... a fair point," the girl admitted, "but do you really think this Ilia girl will agree to that?"

"Eh..." Yang waggled her hand. "Maybe? She clearly wants to help Blake, but she's in the White Fang so--"

"WAIT _WHAT?!"_

Yang shot a look across the room, meeting Blake's worried expression. "Yell a little louder, why don't you, I don't think the neighbors heard that."

"Wait." Ruby tilted her head. "I have neighbors?"

The white-haired girl spun around with a big smile. "I mentioned I wasn't Weiss Schnee, right? Definitely not."

"Yeah?" Ilia crossed her arms. "What's your name, then?"

"Draženka Vinogradov."

"...Really."

"Yes. Really. Definitely Draženka Vinogradov." The white-haired girl shrugged. "It's a name."

"I call her Drizzledrazzle!" Ruby offered "It's a cute pet name that I have for her since we are married and in absolute love and I understand that's a normal thing that people in love do or maybe it's just a thing we do because we're so close I don't know what's normal for love not that I don't know love because I'm married to Drizzledrazzle and why am I talking about this I need to show you the reticulating lock manipulator--"

As soon as Blake and Ilia were sucked back into Ruby's babbling, the girl grabbed Yang and dragged her behind a tall piece of machinery. "The White Fang?!" she hissed. "You brought White Fang agents _here?!"_

Yang sighed. "Look, W--Draz. Draz. Look."

"No you look--listen--whatever!" The girl gestured at the pair. "There is _nothing_ stopping those two from going back and telling everyone where this lab is!"

"That is... actually a good point," Yang admitted. "Huh."

"Were you even thinking?! What, was it just some hot girl coming to you with a sob story and--"

"I found her bleeding out in an alleyway." Yang sighed. "Look, W--Draz, today has been a day. Maybe I screwed up. Maybe a lot. But... I told Blake I'd help her get back on her feet." She glanced away, unconsciously rubbing her arm. "I know how important that is."

The white-haired girl paused for a moment.

"...what happened?"

"Apparently... well, she was partners with this guy, and he killed one of the White Fang's street-level watchers and stabbed her when she said they shouldn't do that... and then tried to pin the murder on her?"

"And you believe that."

"It fits the evidence. Not just mine, Clover's new police cadet painted a picture of how the guy was killed."

The white-haired girl blinked. "Wait, Clover has a cadet?"

"He's training her." Yang frowned. "You didn't know this already? Penny Polendina?"

There was a gasp from across the room and then suddenly Ruby was between them. "DID YOU SAY POLENDINA DID YOU MEET DOCTOR POLENDINA I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS YANG TELL ME ALL ABOUT HOW YOU MET HIM AND WHAT WAS HE DOING AND--"

"I met a _police cadet_ named Polendina," Yang said quickly. "Penny Polendina. She seemed nice, if a little naive."

"...Penny? Penny. _Penny._ Penny..." Ruby pulled a sketchpad from her belt, uncapping a pen. "Description."

Yang quirked an eyebrow. "Young, like I would have thought she was preadolescent if she wasn't a cadet. Pretty pale skin, freckles, short orange hair done up in curls, green eyes. One of those people that thinks police are automatically the good guys, because she doesn't know better. Probably has a good heart, still very new to... subterfuge?"

"Mhm. Mmmhm. Mmmmhm. Hmm."

The white-haired girl sighed. "Ruby--"

"This doesn't fit in with known factors."

"Ruby," she tried again. "It's a name. Different people can have the same name."

"Possible." Ruby nibbled her pen doubtfully. "Not _likely..._ OH! I was showing our guests something!" She rushed back across the room, picking up something else from the table. "Now this isn't complete yet but when it is it will be the solution to all spiders---"

The white-haired girl turned back to Yang. "I get that you want to help everyone," she began. "And yes, I suppose Blake's in a lot of trouble right now. But... this isn't like the Branwens, Yang. The Branwens are about power and profit, they can be bribed or, or redirected. This is the White Fang, they _believe_ in their cause--and that means if things go bad, we can't worm our way out of it."

Yang sighed. "Yeah, I know, I know." She paused. "Also... _we?"_

"Well, yes. We." The girl rolled her eyes. "I mean it's not like I'm just going to let you scam Alsius on your own--and Ruby will probably want to get involved. She's worse than you in that way."

"...also I did show them to the lab."

"You did show them to the lab."

"So even if you just handed us the equipment they could, uh, pay a visit."

"Yes, which is why it's best I do my utmost to ensure this crazy scheme of yours pays off and therefore give them no reason to wreck this place."

Yang cringed. "It's... not a scheme _yet,_ there's no real _plan--"_

"Oh I'm well aware of that," the white-haired girl deadpanned. "It is _you,_ after all. You've always been better at thinking on the fly then planning ahead." She rolled her shoulders. "Fortunately for _you,_ you are _not_ surrounded by idiots."

"Mmm..." Yang gave her a knowing grin. "They do say there's a fine line between genius and madness..."

"I'd say I'm surprised to hear you talk about your sister that way, but--"

"Oh it wasn't her I was talking about, Drizzledrazzle."

* * *

"--which is why I don't use makeup anymore I mean sure everyone knew that I didn't mean to set the car on fire and nobody could have predicted the squirrel but you know I do work with some serious stuff but actually now that I think about it I could create a makeup kit that doubles as some sort of door-bypass toolset or maybe a bomb-making kit well I mean small bombs or maybe gas bombs yes actually gas bombs is more likely or are more likely Drizzledrazzle always gets on my case about proper grammar well not literally always but it's a pretty regular occurrence and--"

"Ruby?" Blake interjected. "Can I ask you something?"

"Science is all about asking questions! Usually Why."

Blake smiled a bit at the enthusiasm. "Fair. So... why do you do this?"

Ruby rubbed the edge of her goggles awkwardly. "Um... by this, you mean...?"

"The... the science, the inventing, the whole secret underground lair."

The girl fidgeted with some gears around her wrist. "I wouldn't call this a _lair,_ exactly..."

Blake paused, talking in her expression--or, well, what she could see of it beneath the goggles and ash. "...You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I was... I was honestly just curious."

Ilia gave her a dry look. "We do have slightly more important things to be worrying about, Blake."

"We're going to be relying on this girl to equip us, Ilia. Wouldn't you like to know what kind of person she is? How she puts this all together?"

For a moment, she saw emotions warring on her friend's face. Irritation, but also concern and a little... something else, something she couldn't identify.

"...Alright, fine." She rolled her eyes. "What about it, sci-gal, going to let us in on the mysteries of the universe?"

Ruby considered them for a moment. "I... um." She turned back to the table. "There's still so much useful gear and devices and tools we could talk about or well that I could talk about while you listen because I tend to ramble a lot--"

"Hey, I said you didn't have to talk about it if you didn't want to--"

"If you tell us I'll let you take a look at my hair."

Ruby spun around so fast her goggles dislocated from her face. "REALLY?!"

Ilia swallowed. "Uh... yeah. I mean, you can't do anything but look at it... right?"

"Oh oh oh this could be a revolutionary breakthrough in cellular physiology and maybe even present a new world of scientific research of course I'd need to set up all the equipment so it can't be this lab I do my biological research in a different lab I'll need to adjust the microscopes how do you feel about radiological scanning and I'll need some tweezers to get the follicle OH what if you changed the color while under a scanner that could seriously--"

"IF." Ilia held up a finger. "IF. You tell us what is up with the science thing."

"Oh. Yes. Right."

Blake sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Ilia, I didn't want to coerce her, it's just--"

"No, it's fine, it's fine." Ruby readjusted her goggles. "It's fine. It's fine! It's just..."

She stared at the ceiling for a moment.

"....it's a little... simple in a complicated way? Or complicated in a simple way."

Blake couldn't help but notice how Ruby was absently running her fingers on the edge of her red cloak. There was something... strange about the cloak, now that she thought about it. It felt so different from the rest of Ruby's outfit--no gears, or science, it was attached by a halter--but... somehow, it also felt more like a part of her. Like her hair, or the way she gestured--everything else Ruby wore was her outfit, but the cloak almost seemed like another limb.

"...Have you ever had a moment, a feeling, that you had a purpose? That there was this thing you wanted to do with the rest of your lift, this... _role_ you were suited for, a calling that sunk so deeply into your soul that you just couldn't deny it?"

"No," said Ilia, at the same time Blake said "Yes." The two had just enough time to give each other surprised looks before Ruby started speaking again.

"Well, I... _sort of_ have that. I know there's something I need to do with my life. I know I have a... a purpose, something important, something fundamental to my being. The thing is... I don't know _what_ that thing is!"

"So..." Ilia tilted her head. "You're looking for a purpose?"

"No! Not exactly, no, I mean--" Ruby started pacing. "It's, it's not that I'm not _sure_ what I want to be, it's that what I want to be is something I don't have a word for, don't even have a reference for! It's like... like my entire _being_ is a highly optimized and adaptable machine for this one purpose, this one task, except somebody has made sure that the central spooler is missing! And because of that all the threads of thought in my head are just constantly spiralling out in wild and undirected patterns and I'm ricocheting across all sorts of ‘maybe this is it, maybe that is it' and I see twelve things at once well not in a literal sense I mean twelve things catch my attention at the same time and I'm thinking about them all at once and I only have one mouth to talk about it all and only two hands and I know that doing it all--"

She took a breath, forcing herself to be still.

"I know... I know there's something. Something that will make it all... click. I'm missing a few key parts, but I know... where they go? In my head? I know where the absences are is what I'm saying, and once I have those parts.... It'll all make sense. I'll know what I am. Deep down."

Ruby gestured around. "This? All of this? It--it lets me figure stuff out. Get closer to whatever it is I'm missing. And it keeps me from going actually crazy, not just the kind of crazy I already am. And, you know, it's useful sometimes, so while I'm still figuring out this whole thing, I have something I can contribute to society. Or," she shrugged, "help people break into casinos with. This isn't what I _am,_ but... it's something I can _be,_ for now. You know?"

Blake considered her own life, up to this point. What she'd done to protect the faunus in Concordance city... and what she hadn't done, overall.

"...Yeah, I... I think I can understand that, a bit." She glanced at Ilia, who was awkwardly running a finger across her freckles. "We... both do, right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. Yeah. Being something you're not because... you can't be what you are." Ilia nodded. "I mean, I haven't seen anything like this before, but... it's... _sort of_ what I've seen before? Taken to unusual extremes?"

"Unusual, maybe." Blake looked at some of the wires running over the ceiling. "Still... kind of fun, in its own way."

" _Kind of_ \--Blake, are you feeling okay?"

Blake gave Ilia a flat look.

"...right. Stabbing. Yeah." Ilia frowned. "Has it been twenty four hours yet?"

"It's been... at least twenty, I think..."

"Ladies!" called the white-haired girl. "If you will all come over here, we've got a heist to plan."

* * *

"You just so happen to have a floorplan of one of the most high-end secure buildings in the city." Ilia crossed her arms and gave the white-haired girl a flat look. "Convenient."

"Yes. It is."

"Suspiciously so."

The white-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Ruby repurposes a lot of buildings. Best to be prepared."

"I'm very useful!" Ruby agreed.

Yang looked at Ilia's unamused expression. She gave Blake a look--getting a bemused shrug in return, before looking at the white-haired girl, who was meeting Ilia's eyes with no sign of backing down.

A sigh fell from her lips. "Okay, look Ilia. Even if you could convince people that you'd captured Weiss Schnee, there's no way Jacques would give you _anything_ in exchange for her. He's too much of a flintheart."

"Maybe, but I'm pretty sure a pampered rich girl would be willing to do anything to get her freedom."

The white-haired girl smirked. "Oh, trust me, I am in _full_ agreement with you there."

"Not that it matters," Blake pointed out with a wry grin. "This is clearly Draženka Vinogradov, Ruby's lab assistant wife who she calls Drizzledrazzle, who is perfectly happy wearing suspenders and living underneath an abandoned car factory."

"...Yes," said the white-haired girl.

Yang snorted. "Focus, people, heist. So!" She pointed at the map. "The offices are on the third floor. We need to hit as many as we can, as fast as we can, and get as much data as we can from all of them. Problem one: Getting to the third floor."

"No, problem one is getting in the casino at all." The white-haired girl ran her finger around the floorplan. "Only the first two floors have windows."

Yang frowned. "Wait, isn't that against building codes?"

"Kind of yes but also no." Ruby tapped a few locations on the blueprint. "There are doors for the fire escapes, as well as doors to the inner space of the mezzanine so engineers can access the catwalks and work on the chandeliers and other lighting arrangements."

"Huh... well my original plan was to just climb the walls and get in--"

The white-haired girl shook her head. "The fire escape doors have so many alarms it's not even funny."

Blake gave her a look. "And you know that.... How?"

"There was... a scandal, a while back, about a young rich girl who accidentally mistook one of them for a bathroom entrance."

"Oh, yeah, I remember that. The whole casino emptied out because they were sure the place was going up in flames."

"Didn't that young girl turn out to be, oh, Weiss _frickin'_ Schnee?" Ilia asked pointedly.

The white-haired girl gave her a flat look. "You seem to have a fixation with this woman. Is this a celebrity crush or something?"

"Oh HELL no!"

"So we can't go in through the fire escape," Yang mused. "That leaves the other angles of entry." She looked over the map. "There's the front entrance, the staff entrance, the loading bay, the other staff entrance, the side entrance for people who don't want to be recognized, are the windows on the second floor alarmed?"

"I think most people would notice somebody smashing through glass," the white-haired girl deadpanned. "But no, they're not alarmed. Technically."

"Front entrance is out for me," Yang muttered. "One of the problems with being a PI is you've got a reputation. Side entrance too." She glanced across the table. "Although, I think Blake could pass muster if we get her a new dress..."

"What?" Blake shook her head. "No, no, that's... I mean..."

"Yang," said the white-haired girl, "don't flirt with your clients."

"Oh come on, Draz, look at her! She'd totally fit in!"

The girl examined Blake for a few moments. "...Posture."

"What--"

"Posture. Stand straight, relax shoulders... huh." She tilted her head as Blake complied. "That could work."

Yang nodded. "Right, so Blake in through the... front entrance?"

"Side. The, ah..." The white-haired girl cleared her throat. "...the people on the front door would notice a, well, _lone_ faunus walking in, no matter what."

Ilia glowered. "Of course."

"Although..." She turned to Ilia speculatively. "If she had an _escort..."_

"A... what?"

"It's a terrible double standard, but young rich lads and lasses who are ‘just _sooooooooo_ enamored with faunuskind's bravery' will sometimes attempt to woo the object of their affections by treating them to a night on the town. And, well," a dangerous smile came across her face, "you do look like you'd look handsome in a tuxedo."

Ilia stared at her, mouth agape. "...you... are... more clever than I thought."

"I keep up with Ruby. And I'll be taking the side entrance."

"I guess that leaves me and Yang with the service entrances."

Yang balked, giving Ruby a baffled look. "Wait, sis, hold on a minute, who said _you_ were coming?"

" _I_ did. Or, I am. Right now I mean."

"Ruby, this isn't just some outing--"

"I require clarification on a specific piece of information and this appears to be the quickest way to obtain that clarification." Ruby shrugged. "Aside from which, my technical skills will be invaluable in subverting the electronic and mechanical security measures."

"I'm not going to get you to back down on this, am I."

"Nope!"

Yang sighed. "Fine, I guess we'll enter through... the loading bay? We can drive a truck in and say we're delivering... money, casinos use money, right?"

Ilia quirked an eyebrow. "You've never been to a casino have you."

"Um." Yang rubbed the back of her head. "No. Have you?"

"Yep." She hummed thoughtfully. "Better off delivering fresh food or something--there are a lot of people at the place, so there's got to be a deep larder. Let's say... bread. But fancy bread. Not the stuff you can get at a grocery store."

"Where are we going to get a truck full of fancy bread?!"

"Replenishable goods is a good start OH wait a minute _wait a minute_ there are all the flashy lights for the flashy things that attract eyes and lights mean lightbulbs if we do research into the lights Alsius uses we can say we're delivering lightbulbs for the maintenance sort of storage and even put in other electronics on the grounds that we deliver to a lot of places and use the same truck and that can be useful if we need things that we can't sneak in any other way--"

"I'm liking Ruby's lightbulb idea," Ilia admitted. "Worst comes to worst, we can use the Dust inside as makeshift grenades."

"Yes, because setting the casino on fire will definitely help us keep a low profile," Blake said in absolute deadpan.

"...it _might,_ you know."

"So, that covers how we'll all get in." The white-haired girl looked over the floorplan. "I think we can all meet up at the venue on the second floor. After that..."

* * *

Blake nodded, absently bracing herself on the table's edge. "Yeah, that... that all looks like it sounds like a good plan." She tried to focus on the blueprint and the various poker chips that were spread on it. "So after that..."

Her head nodded again, and she shook herself.

"After that." She held up a finger. "We have... the stuff."

Yang frowned, pulling off her hat. "Yeah, I think we need to call this now. We've been at this for hours, and you look like you could use some shuteye."

"I've stayed up for days at a time. A whole week, once."

"First of all, that is not remotely healthy. Secondly, you lost a lot of blood this morning, and I mean a lot. Almost a liter if I had to guess." The blonde crossed her arms. "Frankly I'm shocked you've been keeping up as well as you have."

"Aura."

 _"Doesn't fix everything,_ and--have you been running on glimmers _all day?"_ Yang stared at her, aghast. "That's just--even at a low level... okay, yeah, Ruby? Set up a bed for this woman right now."

"Did that fifteen minutes ago when I went for a snack break come on Blake this is the way we go for the rest--"

"I'm fine," Blake insisted, waving Ruby off.

"You have a stab wound," Ilia deadpanned.

"And that's not a problem if I'm not jumping around."

"You're outvoted four to one," the white-haired girl said.

"But the plan--"

"Has already been made." The white-haired girl rolled up the blueprint, gathering the poker chips up in a pile. "Honestly, we're not in the middle of a Grimm rampage here. You have time to get the rest you obviously need while the rest of us get the gear we'll need for this ridiculous escapade."

"But..." Blake shook her head, trying to resist as Ruby tugged her along. "But I'm the reason we're all doing this!" she whined. "I should be the... helping... person."

"The helping person."

"Ilia, if my brain weren't half air right now I would..." Blake waved a hand vaguely at her. "...say something... snarky."

Yang chuckled. "Yeah, I haven't known you for a full day and I already know you're out of it."

Blake groaned, watching Ruby grab a drawer knob and twist it. "You're supposed to just pull drawers out--"

Ruby swung the drawers aside like a door, revealing a spacious room.

"Oh. Right. Space." Blake peered suspiciously at her. "You're not a wizard, are you?"

"I dabble," Ruby replied.

Blake nodded. "Right, right..." Her eyes drifted over Ruby's patched-together outfit again. The rubber gloves, the stockings with patches on them, the leather apron/skirt thing that--

She jolted upright, eyes going wide.

"O...kay." Yang reached out gently. "Blake, whatever it is, take a deep breath. Okay, just a deep breath--"

"Ruby? Where did you get that skirt?"

"Huh?" Ruby looked down. "OH! Yeah, weird. Weird skirt. Um." She glanced at Yang. "Well..."

Yang sighed and nodded her permission.

"Right so Yang lost her arm in this big skirmish because some guy came up and cut it off but she was protecting people caught in the crossfire so she didn't pass out right away she sort of grabbed him before he could go after them but she grabbed his jacket and kind of pulled it off him so she had it when she went to the hospital and I sort of got it and I was really mad at the time because whoever it was really hurt my sister but I'm also kind of hard to focus so I thought that if he took her arm I could take his jacket and I got really frustrated because it was taking Yang a long time to get back to herself so I kind of decided to destroy the jacket and make it into a kind of apron skirt belt thing as a sort of revenge by proxy plus the rose is fun because I'm Ruby Rose and yeah I'm over it now but I'm keeping it for reasons and the way you're looking at me is kind of worrying because it looks like you're sort of guilty and terrified all at once but I don't know why you would be unless you knew the guy who had this jacket and wait is the guy who had this jacket the same guy that stabbed you OOOOOOOH yeah that would explain the panic especially if Yang told you her part of the story I'm rambling I should shut up now."

Blake took a deep breath.

"...So." She cleared her throat. "Adam's the one that cut off your arm, it seems."

"That does fit the evidence," Yang agreed.

"Right."

The two of them stood there, awkwardly not looking at each other.

"...so were you two... like... a thing?"

Blake groaned. "I was young and stupid, he was cute and edgy. I guess I just... severely underestimated his level of edge." Her hand brushed against her bandages. "Very, very severely..."

The white-haired girl walked up to them. "What are we talking about?"

"How Adam's a dick," Ilia replied smoothly.

"The guy who stabbed Blake for having a conscience?"

"And apparently cut off my arm for saving people," Yang confirmed.

The white-haired girl nodded. "Right. Then I am in agreement with this."

"I mean..." Blake cringed. "I..."

She trailed off, her hand running against her bandages again.

"...He wasn't always like that--"

"Yes he was," Ilia said.

"...I could have changed him--"

"Did he ever show regret?" asked the white-haired girl.

"...I was responsible for him."

Ruby tilted her head. "You were his mentor?"

"No! He was--my... uh..."

Yang sighed. "Blake, I'm going to ask you a question, and you don't have to answer it, just... think about it, okay?" She put a hand on her shoulder. "Why do you feel the need to take the blame yourself?"

"I--"

"Nope. No answer right now. Think about it before you speak." Yang pointed firmly into the room. "And get some sleep before you think about it."

Blake opened her mouth to protest... and, in the time it took to blink, slumped forward. "...okay. Maybe. Maybe I'm a lit-tle tired. Just... just a bit."

"There are beds right in there." Yang looked in. "Made of... old cars, apparently."

"Don't worry I cleaned all the parts before I made the beds!" Ruby assured her.

"A mattress made of car seats is surprisingly comfortable," the white-haired girl added.

Ilia stared at her. "You've actually slept on those things."

"Yes."

_"You."_

The white-haired girl smirked. "Lab. Assistant. Wife."

"...huh." Ilia shrugged. "Well I guess if it's good enough for miss ‘I'm totally not Weiss Schnee' it has to be a decent bed."

Blake lolled her head sarcastically. "Look, it's pretty clear she's not going to admit to being Weiss Schnee so trying to get her to do it is basically pointless."

"I would like some semblance of sanity before the day is out, just to know I haven't gone completely crazy."

"Sanity is a social construct," Ruby said as she casually walked up a wall.

Blake blinked.

"Gravity dust in her boots," Yang explained.

"I... didn't think it worked that way?"

"It's Ruby."

Blake nodded. "Good enough for me. Uh..." She turned around. "Everyone, just... thank you for helping. Me. With this. And... today. And all of this."

"You can thank us once it's done," the white-haired girl said. "You'll probably be able to make a more coherent speech then."

"Probably. Uh..." Blake stumbled into the room. "Oh, this car is... purple. I, yeah, mine."

She fell onto a mishmash of cushions, curling up on it.

"Found the blankets!" Ruby walked in through another aperture, crossing the ceiling and dropping stitched-together tarps on top of her. "Get a good night's sleep I'm going to go work on some things and also interrogate my sister on some other things it has been almost a full week since I've seen her last anyway remember that your dreams are ruled by the convention of infinite rabbits have a good night bye!"

"The convention of..."

"Infinite rabbits, yes I said that."

The lights shut off and Yang, carefully, began to swing the drawer shut--

"Wait, uh..." Blake paused. "Um."

"Yes?"

"...can you, uh... maybe... stay with me until I fall asleep?"

Yang smiled sadly. "You've had a day."

"I've had a day."

"Yeah, sure thing." She stepped in, giving Ilia and the white-haired girl a look. "Don't kill each other."

Ilia snorted. "I make no--"

"I mean that Ruby would use it as an excuse to try experimental resurrections."

"Are you using me as a threat?"

"Yes, Ruby, I am."

"Okay just wanted to be sure we're on the same page."

Ilia groaned. "Sure. That makes sense. Fine, I won't kill anyone."

"And I won't either," said the white-haired girl.

Yang shut the door, sitting down on another carbed. "Hey Blake?"

"Yeah?"

"...I'll still be here when you wake up."

"...that's..." Blake nodded. "Good."

* * *

The shattered moon poured light as she strode across the empty chamber, idly stroking her pet. "So much... dependent on so little a change."

She stepped out onto the balcony, looking out across the glimmering lights of the city.

"So much... as they see it. And yet, so much as they do not know."

Her pet growled.

"No." She tapped the skull with a single finger. "Only traitors, you know that." Her eyes narrowed as the creature glowered down at her, as they had so many times before. And as it had so many times before, it knelt, pacified. "Good."

She took a sip of wine.

"If only you could see it..." Her voice was faint. "What would you say? What _could_ you say?"

For a moment, she simply stood, and watched.

Then she nodded. "Too much is at stake. I believe I shall attend the proceedings... personally."

There was a small twitch of her lips. "It has been a while since I've had fun, after all."


	5. Full House

"Wow." Ilia cleared her throat. "Uh... Ruby's a great tailor, I guess. You look... wow."

Blake managed a wry smile. "Ten to one odds this outfit ends up wrecked when our plan goes off the rails."

"I don't know. Maybe the dress gets scraped up, but I think you'll be able to keep the rest pristine."

"I guess that would be nice," Blake admitted, glancing at her reflection in a nearby window. The sleek dark slacks and purple-cuffed white shirt made her feel more... coherent, in a way, then her old outfit. Without them the fern-print black dress would have just made her _look_ good, but with the suit, it... was more _her._ Especially with the hint of lilac visible through the hip-cut...

"You know, if _everyone_ reacts to your dress like this we're going to have a problem."

Blake rolled her eyes, breaking away from her reflection. "I'm sure there'll be fancier outfits than mine." She gave Ilia a once-over and hummed thoughtfully. "Like that tuxedo, for instance. I've never seen a cravat and a bowtie on the same neck before."

Ilia shrugged. "Weiss said the idea was I'm a rich idiot who thinks ‘fancy' is something about the amount of ribbons, not the arrangement."

"You mean Draženka."

That got a laugh out of her. "There is _no way_ we are getting through tonight without her admitting she's Weiss Schnee. It's the Alsius Casino, for crying out loud! Somebody will _have_ to recognize her!"

Blake hummed noncommittally. "Speaking of which..." She held out her arm. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Ilia hooked her arm around Blake's and together they walked down the road.

In but a few blocks, they stood before the shimmering, sprawling shrine to glamour, glory, and greed. The many titles this edifice bore flickered through Blake's mind; wellspring of wealth, the shimmering spiderweb, Concordance's tamed Teryx... yet all of those, the aspirations and warnings alike, washed away at the sparkling name twenty feet wide and thirty feet tall.

Alsius Casino

"Just as gaudy as I remember it," Ilia muttered.

Blake blinked, shooting her a look. "Wait, you've been here before?"

"It's..." Ilia cleared her throat. "It's a long and embarrassing story. Which we definitely do not have time to go into now." She gave Blake a look. "Okay, remember, you're playing a ditz."

"I know, Ilia--"

"I'm serious. Do not say anything smart, snarky, or sassy until I say we're clear."

"Shouldn't be too difficult."

Ilia gave her a flat look. "I've _met_ you, Blake. I know this will be the greatest challenge of your _life."_

"Are we just going to stand out here all night while you tell me how impossible it is for me to be stupid, or are we going to head inside and try to pull a crazy heist on the best casino for every criminal family ever just so I don't have to go back to my boyfriend?"

"See, that? That's sass! You can't _do_ that!"

Blake rolled her eyes, grabbed Ilia's wrist, and tugged her up the stairs. "OH MY GOSH! This place looks SO MEGA RAD!"

"Hold on there, miss." A woman in a brown suit stepped in front of her, tilting her shades down with amusement. "We need to sign you in before you can have fun."

"What?" Blake turned a dismayed face toward Ilia. "But Li-Li, you said there wouldn't be any problems!"

Ilia professionally swept her expression of irritation away for a charming smile. "Oh don't you worry, my little kitten, this is merely a formality. Lady concierge, please! Your finest signatory sheet."

The woman pulled a clipboard and pen from her belt, giving Ilia a frown as she handed it over. "Word to the wise, pal: people are more than their problems."

Ilia paused as she took the clipboard, staring at the woman in befuddlement. "I--"

Blake nudged her, glancing meaningfully at the woman's belt... and the small rabbit in a heart hanging off it.

"...ah." Ilia dropped her smile, nodding as she scribbled out a pseudonym on the clipboard. "And not all seas are shallow."

The woman quirked an eyebrow. "Huh."

"Li-Li's not all that bad," Blake assured her as she signed in her own moniker. "It's just... some people hate swimmers, you know?"

"Oh, I know." The woman took the clipboard back, glancing around for a moment. "Hey, if you two get the wrong sort of _attention..._ head to the kitchens. Tell ‘em Adel sent ya, they'll keep you out of sight."

"Thanks." Ilia held out her hand. "Well, my lady?"

"Woo!" Blake took her hand and rushed forward. "This night's going to be wild!"

She kept her smile on until they were well into the atrium, several extravagantly dressed elites between them and the doors, and turned to Ilia with a flat expression. "‘My little kitten?'"

"Just playing a role."

_"My little kitten."_

"You called me Li-Li!" Ilia protested.

Blake considered that for a moment, before shaking her head. "You know what? Let's not talk about it ever again."

"Agreed." Ilia looked around. "Okay... stairs are over there. Let's hope we don't have to wait too long for the others..."

* * *

"Look, I have a work order that says ‘deliver lightbulbs to the casino.' Truck of lightbulbs, casino." Yang tapped her clipboard with a metal finger. "If I don't do my job, my boss is going to cut my pay, man."

"I sympathize, really," the big man said. "But we don't have you on the schedule, so--"

"Dude!" Yang flung her hand at the truck. "Do you know what it takes to drive one of these things?"

"Uh--"

"I had to spend two months--two whole months! With this half-drunk scraggly man from who even knows where to get a license!"

"That sounds bad."

"Oh, yeah. Kept going on and _on_ about his awesome nieces, how they would just _breeze_ through every single test in school, and here I am, trying to pay attention to the road and all the gizmos in the dashboard JUST. Just so I could earn a living! I already know how to drive man, why do I need to learn how to truck?"

"The law is crazy sometimes."

"Yeah, it can be." Yang sighed, pulling a hand down her face. "Can you just, I don't know, let me in? I'll only be a couple hours--"

"Hours?"

"There are a LOT of lightbulbs."

The big man sighed. "Look... miss. I'm sorry, but there's a reason we have deliveries scheduled. There's a lot of stuff in our depots, and--"

"Lightbulbs." Yang pointed at the truck. "Light. Bulbs."

"...and, honestly, I have no idea whether this is a complicated plan to rob the casino."

"Does that happen often?"

"No, but it's my job. You're going to have to turn around and leave."

"Oh my god." Yang threw up her hands. "Great, just great. Can you at least sign this? Let my boss know I was here?"

The big man sighed, taking the clipboard and pen she offered. "Fine, I'll jusRRCHZI--"

Yang caught him as he slumped, dragging him up against the truck. "Should have just let me in... Ruby, need a little help here!"

A panel in the side of the truck opened. "Did the pen tazer not work?"

"No, it worked fine, guy's just a bit too bulky for me to hold and drug at once!"

"Oh yeah and it looks like you'd need to increase the dosage due to his mass--"

"Time-critical here!"

"Oh right!" Ruby disappeared for a moment, before leaning out with a syringe. "Hold his head back?"

The man stirred for a moment. "Mnnngh..."

"Dude, come on," Yang muttered as she exposed his neck. "Do you _have_ to make it this hard?"

"It _is_ his job," Ruby pointed out as she plunged the needle in. "If we're successful he might get fired."

"Crap. Seems like such a nice guy too..." Yang dragged him around to the back of the truck, rolling up the door, heaving him up inside, and idly pulling a wallet out of his pocket. "Yatsuhashi Daichi. I'll check in on him on the weekend, maybe I can talk to my contacts and get him hooked up with a new job."

Ruby skipped over, taking the wallet and flipping through the cards. "I.D. license lien lien HERE IT IS security card putting it in the scanner yep that tracks here's the card back and here's the self-altering keycard I think it'll adapt to most scanners in this building they don't seem to have more than eight layers on their encryption plus it's a standard magnetic lock although there could be more security upstairs it would be expensive and suspicious though Yang we're about to do a heist this is insane what's really weird is that I'm not nervous at all about this I mean I am a little worried but not like whether this is right or wrong I'm excited I'm just worried that one of us might get caught and I won't be able to help and you've already driven the truck into the loading bay okay."

"Hey." Yang leaned back over the driver's seat. "Ruby, you can stay here if you want to, you know. Watch the escape vehicle, be our tech hub person--"

"No no no no no no there's something I need to do and I can't do it in the garage!"

"Alright, if you're sure."

"I'm very sure Yang. I am very very sure."

Yang quirked an eyebrow at that. "Yeah... you are, aren't you? Anyway... we need to head inside, meet up with the others..."

"You mean Blake."

"And the others," Yang protested.

Ruby gave her an amused grin. "But primarily Blake."

"Come on, Ruby, she's... she's going to be something. After all this. I'm just helping her when she needs help, you know?"

"Like you do with all your clients."

"Yes."

"How many have you introduced to me?"

Yang glowered playfully at her. "I introduced you to your ‘lab assistant wife.'"

"Mmmmhmm, to keep her in a saferoom." Ruby leaned on one hand. "And a few others, just to get gear. Asking me to make a dress? That's new."

"Her old dress got torn up!"

"You could have just bought her a new one, instead of asking me."

Yang swung the truck door open. "You know what, we're wasting time here."

"What a convenient and nonetheless accurate excuse to end this conversation!"

"Do you _not_ want me to buy you strawberry scones next month?"

Ruby chuckled, but obligingly kept her lips shut as she followed her sister.

* * *

Blake tapped her finger against the table, one ear flicking toward the stage. "I have to say, the band's not that bad."

"Never thought I'd see a Mistrali on saxophone."

"Or that I'd hear Mistrali songs on guitar, but the guy playing is pretty talented."

"Concordance city. Heck of a melting pot." Ilia peered at the sign on the piano. "The Juniper Quartet... yeah, I'll have to see if they have a record somewhere."

"They probably do, I don't think Alsius lets just _anybody_ play here."

"You might be surprised," interjected a familiar voice.

Blake turned to find the white-haired girl, her coat closed to resemble a dress as she idly swirled a small champagne glass. "Really?"

"There's _some_ quality control, but Alsius wants to draw attention away from its rampant corruption and backroom deals. Hiring low-key musical talent is part of that--especially with how they'll sell it as a ‘big break' to young hopefuls."

"Mmmhm." Ilia leaned back into her chair. "So where are the other two?"

"I'm sure they're on their way. It can be a little hard finding stairs in this place."

Blake nodded, acknowledging the surface truth of the casino's confusing flair and the hidden reminder that the loading bays were behind staff doors. "Hope they aren't too late. I don't want them to miss the show."

"I think we'll have time to watch a few sets."

Blake's ears perked and she stood, smiling as Yang and Ruby sauntered over. "Did you have any trouble with the doorman?"

"We weren't on the list, but I managed to get us signed in." The blonde put a hand on her hip. "Although looking at you, I'm not sure Ruby got the memo about subtlety."

"Everyone is dressing up here," Ruby pointed out as she peered at a wall. "I even got my fancy goggles."

Ilia frowned. "...Fancy goggles?"

"They have bronze rims instead of brass, can't you tell?" Ruby leaned in, tapping the wall thoughtfully. "Anyway, Blake's dress is eye-catching because if it wasn't she'd stand out more here."

"She has a point," the white-haired girl agreed. "And by that metric, she did a bang-up... job... with--Ruby, why are you so focused on that wall."

"It doesn't make structural sense it's not loadbearing and if I remember the blueprint right it doesn't surround any room it's just a wall that is here for no reason--"

"Ruby, this is a casino. An institute devoted to fortune and gambling. The wall's probably a decorative add-in meant to make the whole experience feel that more exhilaratingly chaotic on a subconscious level specifically _because_ it doesn't make sense."

"Well that's..." Ilia frowned. "A detailed analysis."

"You have to know how to talk to her." The white-haired girl shrugged. "Anyway, as I was saying, Yang's actually the one that stands out the most."

"Hey now," Yang protested, "pinstripe pants and sleeves. Clearly casual business."

"And she does pull off the jacket and hat pretty well," Blake added.

"Aw, thanks! I really like your bow."

Blake ran her finger across the lilac ribbon nestled around her head. "Really?"

"It, uh, complements your ears. In a good way! That... that makes you look good--"

"You know, private investigators are supposed to be suave," Ilia deadpanned.

The white-haired girl smirked. "Oh trust me, she's not normally like--RUBY!"

"Yeth?"

"Licking walls is _not_ socially acceptable!"

Ilia quirked a brow. "And grabbing people's tongues is?"

The white-haired girl released her grip with a sigh. "With Ruby, yes. Surprisingly often." She put down her glass (which, Blake noted, did not seem to have been as much as sipped from) and picked up a napkin to wipe her fingers clean. "Yang, if you would?"

Yang reached into her jacket, carefully glancing around as she pulled out an assortment of small objects. "Ruby and I have ours already," she said as she palmed a couple into Ilia and Blake's hands. "We should head up after the band finishes this set."

Ilia sighed as she put the small object into her ear. "And of course I had to be partnered with Ruby..."

"She's intelligent and capable," the white-haired girl pointed out as she accepted the final bead from Yang. "And she did make all our equipment."

"She just licked the wall."

The white-haired girl sighed. "Of course."

"And now she's sniffing it."

"...Ruby."

"This wall makes no sense," Ruby said, tapping it with a finger. "There is something strange about it."

"Ruby!"

Ruby leaned back, looking at the white-haired girl. "Yes?"

"I'm going to..." the girl cringed. "...go... make the distraction soon. You need to be ready to walk _calmly and nonchalantly_ toward the stairs with Ilia. Okay?"

"Geeze, Drizzledrazzle, I'm a lunatic, not an idiot." Ruby put a hand on her hip and gave her a cocky smirk. "I'll behave within acceptable parameters! Well, barring an extreme circumstance."

"...must you tempt fate so?"

"Yes. It's in my contract as a mad scientist."

Blake chuckled. "You have a contract?"

"I _did_ go to college," Ruby pointed out. "You think they let just anybody handle complex equipment?"

 _"You_ have a _degree?"_ Ilia asked, mild horror seeping into her voice.

"Seven!" Ruby replied proudly. "Write-in courses are very useful!"

Ilia buried her face in her hands. "Has the world always been crazy and I'm only just now noticing it?"

Blake sighed. "I asked myself the very same question after Adam stabbed me. And a few dozen others." She glanced at the stage. "Set's about to end."

"Right." The white-haired girl picked up her champagne glass with a cringe. "Time for me to go... _impersonate_ a spoiled heiress."

"Or you could just admit you're _actually_ Weiss Schnee--"

"I will do no such thing, miss Amitola."

* * *

"I PAID FOR A GENUINE MOS LEQUARIZ WHITE, AND I GET _THIS_ GARBAGE?!"

Yang rolled her eyes at the screeching. "That's our cue, ladies." She flicked her head toward the hall. "Come on, she can't keep this up forever... I think."

"EXCUSE ME? _EXCUSE ME?!_ YOU CAN'T TELL ME MOS LEQUARIZ ISN'T REAL!"

"Wow, she's really ripping into that bartender," Ilia noted

"Focus," Blake deadpanned, glancing around as the four of them sidled into an alcove. "Just cover me while I get this door unlocked..."

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA _WHO I AM,_ YOU IMBECILE?!"

"...you know, now I'm kind of hoping she's _not_ Weiss Schnee," Ilia admitted. "Because then a stuck-up rich girl is going to have her reputation ruined."

"Let it go, Ilia..."

"CHECK. YOUR STORES. AGAIN."

"...Got it." Blake tapped the door twice. "Alarm's down."

Yang put a hand to her ear. "We're in, pull it back."

Over their personal comms the four girls heard an exaggerated sigh. "Well, I suppose if you _don't_ have the drink, I have to blame your suppliers instead. Ugh, wasting my time... just get me a water."

Ilia rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind them. "She can turn it on and off at will, can't she?"

"My lab assistant wife is a woman of many talents who is definitely not Weiss Schnee," Ruby agreed with a broad smile.

"Sitcom later," Blake insisted, already heading up the stairs. "Now is office raid time."

Yang grinned as she followed her. "Somebody's enthusiastic."

"Yeah, well, it's either that or nerve-wracking terror over possibly bringing every last mafia down on our heads." Blake shrugged as she hit the third-floor landing. "I'd like to think I'm an optimist."

"Feel ya there."

"We'll take the west wing. Ilia, you and Ruby head east." Blake paused, her ears folding back briefly. "...good luck, you two."

"I know how to combat bad luck," Ruby assured her. "And Ilia is a professional criminal of some type. We should be fine."

"Heh... yeah." Blake nodded, giving Ilia a look, before leading Yang down the hall. "Quick checks."

"Got it."

"First door... miss Malachite."

"The Spiders..." Yang shook her head. "Slippery. Don't think we'll get much on them."

"Every little bit helps." Blake tapped the door twice as she picked it, before opening it carefully. "Only a filing cabinet?"

"Yeah, that's weird..." Yang walked into the room, peering at the cabinet. "Not the same color as the desk. Too obvious. Whatever's in there, it's bait."

"Let's move on, then."

Yang nodded, glancing back down the hall as they shut the door. "You ever been in a heist before?"

Blake snorted. "I'm not called operator Belladonna for nothing." She flicked an ear as she worked on the next door. "What about you? You've talked to cops and mafia bosses, is this your first less-than-legal job?"

"Blake, when the cops aren't around, anything's legal."

"Cute. Seriously though."

Yang walked into the office, raising an eyebrow at the odd pine-tree wallpaper. "Yeah, I've done some dodgy stuff with friends. Not just the usual teenage hooligan stuff, either." She leaned close to a wall, frowning in concentration. "Course, I tried to do it for the ‘right reasons.' Or to have fun, never to hurt anyone."

Blake rummaged through a binder on the table, quirking an eyebrow. "Huh. This Campbell guy has done a lot of shady stuff."

"Campbell?" Yang groaned, standing up. "Oh, we're not going to get any leverage here."

"What? But this file--"

"The guy is a master conman, basically on _everyone's_ shitlist. Getting dirt on him is like catching a Dromedon in a deer trap."

"...Yeah... I could see that." Blake took out her scroll. "Still going to catalog this, just in case."

Yang leaned out the door, glancing down the hallway. "You know, I'm surprised there are no security cameras here. Not completely, given what we're dealing with, but--"

"Yeah..." Blake frowned. "This is too easy. There aren't any guards either..."

Yang sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is obviously a trap, but who set it and who do they want to catch?"

"...we can't know that," Blake pointed out quietly. "Let's just keep looking around."

Yang nodded as she walked out, but reached into her jacket anyway, flicking something from a pocket onto the wall as they passed. Her finger went to her earpiece. "Ruby, Ilia, keep alert. Something's up on this floor, and I don't know what it is."

* * *

"We got it," Ilia said. "Ruby, you heard that, right?"

"Yes, something's wrong." Ruby plipped something onto a wall, rushing to the next door and inserting the reticulating lock manipulator. "Many things, actually. Lack of staff or cameras--cameras that we planned for. Staff too. This was meant to be slow, tedious."

Ilia nodded, her freckles shifting to a dark purple. "Lax security is alarming."

"Also disabled alarms."

"Wait, what?"

"I've been looking at the door latches as we go through," she explained. "There are wires that would trigger silent alarms if they were parted. But they haven't, the panels connected to them haven't lit up. I'd say power's down, but the lights are working." She tapped her googles. "Also I can only pick up one heat signature that isn't us."

Ilia stared at her. "Wait, you have heat vision?"

"Infrared. I did tell you I was wearing my fancy goggles."

"That's... huh." The other woman put a hand on her hip. "How many tricks do you have up your sleeves?"

"Counting just my sleeves? Thirteen." Ruby frowned. "Or maybe five? It depends on how you count it. Anyway the heat signature is in that room."

Ilia followed her finger and blinked. "That's the complaints office. Somebody's still organizing complaints while all this is going down?"

"Maybe." Ruby tilted her head. "That heat signature is strange."

"Strange how?"

"It appears humanoid, but there is minimal variation from region to region." She adjusted her goggles. "The head is the same temperature as the body the body is the same temperature as the limbs which is not something I've seen before I suppose it could be a faunus trait but I have yet to encounter a faunus that can control their body heat so uniformly and come to think of it I don't know of any animals from which such a trait could be derived although you are a chameleon faunus whose trait is not one hundred percent identical to a chameleon's actual--"

Ilia clapped a hand over her mouth. "Fine. Maybe-weird faunus, only other person on this floor." She pulled her hand back. "What are they doing?"

"It seems they are organizing files, from the motions." Ruby tilted her head thoughtfully. "Knowing who they are and what they are capable of strikes me as essential to the furtherance of our objectives on the grounds that they're probably associated with the unusual state of this floor."

"You could just say ‘we've got to find out who they are, they're probably tied up in all this."

Ruby gave Ilia a flat look. "I'm a mad scientist. I've got to ramble sometimes."

Ilia sighed. "Fine."

"I'm going to go talk to them," Ruby decided.

"But--!"

"I can say I'm a janitor that lost their way." She pulled off her cape, twirled it around her, and spread her arms to reveal the jumpsuit she wore.

"...Okay, how did you even do that?"

"Science."

"Oh come on!"

"If I actually explained I would start rambling and we don't have time for that."

Ilia opened her mouth, paused, and sighed. "Alright, fine."

"While I'm talking to them, you go into the police office there and look up anything you can about Penny Polendina." Ruby paused. "Please."

"...Why?"

"Because I am a major fan of Pietro Polendina and do not know how Penny fits into that model."

Ilia rolled her eyes. "So this is entirely a celebrity obsession thing."

"No."

"This is ninety-five percent a celebrity obsession thing."

"...it is sixty-three percent at maximum," Ruby allowed.

Ilia waved a hand dismissively. "Fine, maybe I'll get some dirt on actual cops while I'm at it."

"Thank you!"

Ruby quickly opened the police office door before rushing down to the complaints office, skidding to a stop just outside. She straightened her jumpsuit, carefully stashed away her gear, paused for a moment, reached into a pocket, and unfolded a pushbroom.

Then she opened the door, turning off her goggle's infrared mode. "Excuse me?"

The girl behind the desk blinked, putting down her papers. "I'm sorry, I wasn't told to expect anyone."

Young. Police cadet uniform. Freckles. Hair: Orange, curled. Eyes: Green--unusual iris striations. Ruby's mind assembled the data quickly and came to the conclusion that this person had a high probability of being Penny Polendina.

"Oh, it's fine, it's just..." Ruby put on an awkward smile. "You know how on your first day of the job you can get a little lost?"

"Yes," said high-probability Penny, and then hiccuped. "Would you like directions back to... wherever it is you are working?"

"I'm more of a wandering sort of worker. Just wandering the halls to janitorize." Ruby smiled awkwardly. "But, uh, you know, I haven't seen another janitor in a bit so I thought is this a place where janitors are supposed to be and then I thought wait is anybody here and then I heard you shuffling papers through the door I'm sorry I'm being rude I'm Ruby Rose what's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Penny Polendina."

Ruby nodded. "Penny Polendina. Um..." She paused for a moment. "Do you have anything that needs janitorizing?"

Penny blinked, looking at the floor of the office. "I... don't... know? What does a janitor's duties consist of?"

"We keep things clean. Handle trash. Oh! Do you have a wastebucket I could empty?"

"I..." Penny blinked. "I do not."

"Huh."

"Yes."

"....so..."

"So... what?"

Ruby shrugged. "I'm trying to think of a way to ask if you know Doctor Polendina without implying that your value as a person is totally dependant on your relationship with him."

"Oh." Penny blinked. "He's my father."

"...He's your father."

"Yes."

Ruby tilted her head. "I didn't know he was married."

"He isn't," Penny said quickly. "I'm..." She paused, eyes darting left and right. "...adopted!"

Then she hiccuped again.

Ruby tapped her goggles thoughtfully, incidentally activating her infrared vision. "Oh, okay. I'm sorry, it's just, I'm a bit of a hobbyist inventor myself and his work inspired me."

"Oh yes, he's a very intelligent man. I--I wouldn't even be around if it weren't for him."

"He saved your life?"

"Yes!"

Ruby rose her brows when Penny hiccuped a third time--not just at the hiccup, but at the way there was no abrupt shift in her heat signature. There was definitely something going on here.

She shut off her infrared vision again. "Well, that's good! And he adopted you. He must love you very much."

"Oh, yes, he does."

"So... what are you doing here?"

"Hmm? Oh!" Penny smiled, going through a few more papers. "I am compiling and organizing the complaints against Alsius Casino."

"You work for the casino?"

"Well... no. I work for the Concordance Police Department," she admitted. "But Chief Ironwood assigned me this task to help determine... what laws need to be enforced!"

Ruby tilted her head. "Isn't it illegal for a police officer to investigate a company's records without a warrant?"

Penny blinked.

She looked down at the papers she was holding.

"...it... is. I..."

Her hands pulled back, and her eyes widened as she stared at them.

"I'm a cadet. I'm a cadet, breaking the law. Because the chief told me to..."

Ruby cringed, stepping forward. "Hey, maybe... maybe he just made a mistake?"

"A mistake. Yes. I..." Penny put her hands on the desk. "I think I should talk to him about this at my earliest convenience."

Ruby smiled gently, reaching out--

"Ruby," Ilia's voice piped in, "I'm looking at the files you wanted me to and what I'm reading is nuts!"

"We've got a problem," Yang announced. "The door locked right behind us, we can't get back out."

"Bigger problem," Blake added quickly, "I found somebody Adam _just_ killed. Like four _minutes_ ago."

"Oh _shit."_ The terrified whisper of her lab assistant's voice echoed through the comms. _"Lady Salem_ is here!"

Ruby froze, looking over her shoulder.

"...Is something the matter?"

She swallowed, turning back to Penny. "So... about how I implied I'm a janitor..."


	6. Royal Flush

Yang's eyes snapped from the door to Blake, her mouth open to say anything--but then the fourth voice came over the comms with its fear-ridden announcement.

"Say again, Lady Salem?"

"That's what I said." The voice quavered. "This is bad. This is very, very bad."

"Of the Salem Charities?" Yang frowned, shooting a confused look at Blake. "I don't get it, I thought she was a famous philanthropist--"

"If she _gives_ you help, you're okay. That's just the bait." Blake shook her head, her own voice low and wary. "If you _go to her_ for help... her promises come with a leash."

"Nobody knows how much of Concordance she controls. My fa...ther's friends in the business say it might be at least half the city, and a lot of contacts out in the kingdoms. Even Jacques Schnee knows better than to cut a deal with her."

"I've heard rumors that she's a vampire," Ilia cut in. "Like the whole family is just one immortal woman--"

"Right, high-roller shadowlord, probably here to get some new servants, we should be good if we avoid her." Yang rounded the desk, looking down at the body Blake had found. "I think Adam being loose in the building is a little more important."

"How do you know it's Adam?"

Blake sighed. "Because I'm looking at Perry."

"...Shit." Ilia's voice was low. "And he was the one Sienna assigned to him... What is Adam even doing?"

Yang glanced at the door again, frowning. "Is Adam tech-savvy enough to trap a door to lock?"

"No. Perry might have been, but--but it doesn't make _sense!"_

"Seems to be a common theme tonight." The blonde rushed over to the door. "I'm going to try getting us out. Blake, can you--?"

"I'll search him."

Out of the corner of her eye, Yang saw Blake kneel down and gently remove the dead man's glasses. She turned away to give her privacy, pulling a few tools out of her coat and starting to work on the door handle.

"I'll keep an eye on Salem," the white-haired girl promised. "You four just... wait. What's Ruby doing?"

"Ruby's talking to... Oh _shit."_ Ilia's tone grew panicked. "Ruby, if that's Penny you're talking to there's something you need to know!"

"I take it you looked at the files on me."

Yang's blood froze at the new voice. A voice she'd only heard once before.

Slowly, she rose her fingers to her ear. "...Cadet Polendina."

"Miss Xiao Long."

Behind her, she heard Blake shoot to her feet.

"You... are speaking over my sister's comm."

"That is correct. She is unharmed and has willingly--"

"I'd like," Yang growled, "to hear that from her."

"...Of course. Ruby?"

There was a brief pause, before Ruby's voice came over. "Hey Yang I'm fine but if Adam is here I thought we could--"

"Ruby listen," Ilia cut in, "Penny's actually a--"

"I'm aware that Penny is a synthetic individual."

Yang's eyes widened, and she heard a vague "what?!" coming from the white-haired girl.

"Oh." Ilia coughed. "I was going to say ‘indentured immigrant,' but I guess synthetic individual fits the facts too..."

Yang took a deep breath. "Ruby, she's not... threatening you in any way, is she?"

"No I don't think she is there are no weapons anyway Ilia why did you say she was an indentured immigrant because that's actually concerning wait no there's a murderer in the building and that's a more pressing issue that's why I gave her my comm in the first place okay now she's staring at me because I'm rambling at nobody probably I should stop rambling I'm going to give her the comm back now we have things we need to deal with."

Blake put a hand on her shoulder, shooting her a weak grin when she glanced back. "At least she's as enthusiastic as ever."

"Look, Ruby--"

"She's still unharmed," Penny assured Yang.

Yang sighed. "Right..."

"Miss Xiao Long... Yang." Penny paused. "I am... technically obligated to arrest you and your companions but, if the Seventh Street murderer is in the building now, it would be prudent to subdue him first."

A tension that Yang hadn't noticed left, and she let out a relieved breath. "That's... good to hear, Penny." She bit her lip. "Would you be willing to let us work with you on that?"

"Have any of you dealt with this man before?"

Yang flexed her metal hand. "Yes. Not all at once though."

"I will request a full debriefing at a later date. You can meet me in--uh..."

Yang winced at the rough sound that came through the comms.

"...The door is locked."

"Yours too?"

"Yes, this... doesn't make any sense--"

Blake's eyes widened, and she brought her hand to her ear. "Ilia, is your door locked?"

"Let me check--yeah. Crap, this is a floor-wide lockdown, isn't it?"

"What the hell is going on up there?" hissed the white-haired girl. "Can't you all pick the locks or something?"

Yang knelt down, continuing to unscrew the handle. "Working on it--"

A sudden splintering sound made her freeze.

"I have unlocked my door," Penny announced. "For a... given value of unlocked."

Blake rolled her eyes at the ceiling. "You just smashed it, didn't you."

"That is irrelevant. If you tell me what offices you are in, I can retrieve you and we can apprehend the Seventh Street murderer together."

Yang shot Blake a questioning look, taking the comm out of her ear. "I might be able to get us out without--"

Blake shook her head. "There's something going on here. Maybe multiple somethings. And... I couldn't take Adam alone before." She steeled herself. "I'm tired of running."

"...Okay." Yang replaced the comm. "Penny, we're in office 309. Ilia?"

"Police office."

"I will be with you momentarily."

Yang backed away from the door. "Right. No idea what's going to happen now..." She grinned at Blake. "...but I know I've got somebody worth having at my side."

Blake huffed, a small smile breaking through the worry on her face. "Don't be so dramatic. You've only known me for three days."

* * *

"I would like to examine the victim," Penny said as she stepped over the shattered door, handing Ruby her comm back.

Yang shot Blake a glance. At her nod, she stepped aside and wove Penny in. "He's behind the desk. I don't know if you're going to get anything out of it, he was stabbed and shot like the other one."

Penny walked briskly over to the corpse. "Nevertheless, I may be able to determine something from an increased observation. You said you found him dead?"

"Yes. I think he was killed roughly four minutes, maybe a little over." Blake cringed. "He's... leaking the same way Tukson was."

She absently grabbed the gentle hand Yang put on her shoulder.

"That seems to be correct. And also implicates your presence at the Seventh Street incident." Penny didn't look up from Perry. "You are entitled to a lawyer, of course."

Ilia huffed. "Court later, catch Adam now."

Penny frowned, standing up. "My scanners can't detect anything I could use to trace the murderer's path."

"We can't catch him if we don't know where he is," Blake pointed out, clinging to Yang's hand tighter.

"No alarm," she replied. "So he didn't take the fire escapes. He could be downstairs, if he can pass for an ordinary person."

Ilia shook her head. "Unlikely. Adam stands out in a crowd. He has an SDC burn scar over his eye--hides it with a mask, but..."

"Fourth floor," Ruby surmised. "Mostly storerooms and catwalks to work on the various lighting fixtures."

"Lighting... the lightbulbs." Blake took a sharp breath. "They're Dust. He can just drop a chandelier and--"

"Set the casino on fire," Yang finished, wide-eyed. "Or worse. Shit, we gotta move!"

Ilia put a finger to her ear as all five of them started running down the hall. "Hey Weiss--"

"I keep telling you--"

"--Adam's probably going to try to drop a chandelier soon!"

"What?!" hissed the white-haired girl.

"We're trying to stop him but he's got a head start, get somewhere you can--"

"The biggest chandelier is over the venue, I'm not just going to leave everyone to--"

"Get to the stage!" Ruby interjected.

"Ruby, what--"

"You can watch the chandelier and warn everyone if it falls! And if it doesn't people will think you're part of the show!"

"...I hate that you have a point."

Yang chuckled wryly as they whisked up a set of stairs. "So much for subtlety..."

"Penny," Blake asked as they turned the corner, "how long would it take to cut down the biggest chandelier? The one over the venue with a stage?"

"That lighting fixture has sixteen anchor points, accessible from spaces on the catwalk roughly ten meters apart. Assuming a walking speed of a hundred meters a minute it would take--"

"A minute thirty-six seconds to hit every anchor point probably half to hit the anchor points necessary for the chandelier to fall factor in the fact the chandelier is made of metal and each anchor point takes about thirty seconds to remove that adds roughly four minutes but factoring in that catwalks are confusing it's possible that Adam is still working on getting the thing to fall but it won't be long now so we have to hurry!"

"Yes that's... right," Penny agreed, staring at Ruby. "We're coming up on the service door, we should be ready for an engagement."

Yang twisted her right hand around, the plating shifting aside briefly to reveal complex machinery, and a set of shurikens unfolded into her hand. "Got it."

Ilia stared at them for a moment. "...what the hell?"

Ruby shrugged. "I made her arm."

"You are increasingly intriguing," Penny noted.

Ilia grumbled. "I just smuggled in a gun."

"Lucky you," Blake deadpanned, "I've got my semblance and nothing else."

Yang snapped her fingers, reaching into her coat and handing her a rod. "Zap baton. For all your tazering needs."

"Uh..." Blake took it thankfully, following her out onto the catwalk. "Thanks."

"Length is the dial, zappy is the button." Yang stopped at an intersection, looking around. "Slot machines, so the stage is over there, that's the chandelier, and there's our dick."

Penny blinked. "I thought you said his name is Adam."

"We don't have time to explain insults right now!"

"We'll go this way," Blake said, pointing. "You three circle around the flashy lights over the..." She glanced down and rolled her eyes. "The strippers, apparently."

Ilia followed her gaze, her freckles going pink. "...wow... uh, I mean--"

"Lust later prevent tragedy now!" Ruby shoved her along the catwalk. "Move move move!"

Blake shook her head as she and Yang started running their own way. "You know, I never even thought about that sort of thing happening here."

"Casino, vice, yadda yadda." The blonde gave her a look. "Hey, are you going to be okay?"

"What?"

"We're literally about to fight the ex-boyfriend that stabbed you a few nights ago."

"Oh." Blake swallowed. "I... I need to face him."

"That's not a yes."

"...It isn't."

Yang sighed. "Okay, I'll let you do something emotionally devastating this _one_ time, but only because it's an extreme circumstance. After this I expect you to take a breather, alright?"

Blake managed a wry chuckle. "Whatever you say, doc."

The two turned a corner and Blake backpedaled instantly, bringing up the zap baton to block the red blade swung at her. From the doubletake the masked man did, it was clear he wasn't expecting her, and it was just as clear he wasn't ready for the shuriken that pinned his sleeve to the catwalk rails.

"Hey!" Yang waved her metal hand with a Beowolf's smile. "Remember me?"

The man wrenched his arm free with a rip of his sleeve. "You know, Blake, I thought you couldn't possibly be any more of a traitor. But seeing you with this... sleazy excuse for a human... Do you even know who she is?"

"You cut off her arm."

"Yes," Adam spat. "Because she is the Branwen bitch's bastard!"

Blake scoffed. "Oh please, like I'd believe--"

"Technically not a bastard," Yang cut in. "Born before the breakup."

Blake half-turned her head, careful not to take her eyes off Adam. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yep. For the record, totally agree on my mom being a bitch."

Adam kept his sword level, eyes hidden behind his mask. "Oh, Blake. You could have done so much for us... for me. We could have become the greatest force in the city, you and I."

"I never wanted to be great." Blake took a breath. "I just wanted to be better."

"Because you couldn't see what I could. When you came to the White Fang, you were just another idealistic crusader, but I saw what I could make you into. Because of me, you became powerful. Because of me, you rose through the ranks. Because of me, you were the shadow the humans learned to fear."

Adam's smile, lazy and confident, curled round her heart and began to crush it in its coils.

"But your weakness led you astray. Your... pity. And now the Branwen bitch's bastard is playing those very same strings... playing you for a fool."

Blake's ear twitched at the sound of metal on metal behind her. "You really love the sound of your own voice, huh?" The dry, unamused tone of Yang's voice cut slipped through the cracks, pouring breath into her gasping soul.

"Come back to me, Blake. You know your place is at my side."

She looked at him. Really looked at him.

"...what," she said dryly, "setting fire to the one place all the mafias call neutral ground? I don't think I want to start a civil war, thanks."

Adam sneered, leaning back. "So you've chosen to be nothing. Such a shame." He shifted his stance, bracing himself against the catwalk. "Nobody will notice two extra bodies in the fire."

"How about five?"

The man pulled a gun from his hip and swung it at Ilia, who'd already matched the motion with her own pistol. "It figures that another fraud would get involved in this."

"Adam Taurus," Penny stated, "I am legally obligated to inform you that I will use physical force if you resist arrest."

"And a toy cop too." Adam looked her over. "Where's your gun, shackler?"

Penny casually tore a bar from the catwalk's railing.

"So you have a semblance. Cute." Adam smirked. "I do too."

"Me three," Yang quipped.

"Me four!" Ruby added.

Ilia groaned. "So _I'm_ the only mortal in this demigod fight. Great."

Blake snapped her zap baton on. "Last chance, Adam. Give up, or get out of town."

Adam turned to look at her. His face was expressionless.

Then he lept the railing and jumped into the ornate chains of the massive chandelier.

* * *

Yang didn't even hesitate, throwing another shuriken at the man. "Oh for fuck's sake-- this is not how I thought tonight would go at all."

"We have to stop him!" Blake hopped the railing herself, trailing her zap baton as she jumped from perch to perch across the glittering chains.

Yang reached out briefly, before sighing. "Yeah I can't jump like that. Ilia, can you aaand you're already in the chandelier too. And so is Ruby. So I'm just standing here."

"I cannot jump like that either," Penny assured her.

Yang nodded blandly. "So..." She gave the girl a side-eye. "Indentured immigrant and/or synthetic person?"

"I am the first synthetic being capable of generating aura, yes. Captain Ironwood approached my father about creating a defender against the Grimm." Penny's eyes tracked the battlers running around the myriad of chains and lightbulbs. "Adam has already cut six anchor points."

Yang nodded, bringing a hand to her ear. "Okay Drizzledrazzle, how close are you to the stage?"

"If I run I can jump onto it. Yang, listen--"

"Adam's in the chandelier, call him out NOW."

"Shit--fine! But be ready to get out of there, Salem's headed up with--!"

The comm cut off suddenly. Yang's eyes went wide, and she looked down at the venue below them; a relieved sigh escaped her as she saw the white-haired girl struggling with the suits around the stage. "She'll be fine."

Penny followed her gaze, tilting her head. "Is that... Weiss Schnee?"

"I'm obligated to say no." Yang's hands gripped tightly to the catwalk railings as she leaned out to watch Blake and the others swinging through the complex assemblage of lights. "Come on, girls..."

A stray bullet exploded a lightbulb, sparks and flame swallowed by the swinging arcs of the massive light fixture.

"Whose brilliant idea was it to hang something this big and potentially explosive over the largest room in the casino?!"

"I believe it was the emperor of Mantle," Penny mused. "Back when the casino was his, ahem, secondary housing."

Yang's hands tightened. "So because a long-dead egotist wanted to spruce up his pleasure palace, one madman is able to threaten the lives of over a hundred people and maybe start the gang war to end all gang wars."

Penny frowned to herself quietly. "...that does seem accurate, yes." She looked out and cringed. "He's just cut another anchor point--"

"I saw--"

A sudden, ominous groan snapped their attention across the way, where one of the remaining anchor points was beginning to crack.

"Well I'm useless up here." Yang ran for a nearby railing, putting her finger to her ear. "Doesn't look like we'll stop it dropping, I'm jumping down to get people out!"

"What--Yang!" Blake shrieked. "You won't--"

"She's good!" Ruby assured her. "Three stories is nothing!"

The loud thwump of a microphone caught Yang's ear just as she lunged over the rails, and the sound of her metal hand digging into the wall was buried under the amplified voice of the white-haired girl warning everyone. She stabilized her descent with her boots, wincing as she heard a much more audible snap from above, and pushed off to swing herself behind a bar.

The bartender startled back as she rolled to a stop in front of him. "What the--?!"

"Big falling light fixture, lots of fire." Yang stood up, pointing out of the room. "You don't want to be around alcohol right now!"

"R-right!" The man waved at the people still sitting on the stools as he rushed away. "Bar's closed! EVERYBODY OUT!"

Another loud retort and a sudden jangle made Yang look up again, her lilac eyes darting through gold chains that dangled perilously above the room. Ruby's red petals reformed back on the catwalk, quickly dragging Penny toward an emergency ladder--Ilia, there, barely hanging on a drooping lattice as she flashed purple and green, still pointing her gun at--

Yang leapt over the bar, ripping one of the stools from the floor as she shoved through the panicking crowd and jumped onto a table. There wasn't really any thought in her mind when she pulled her arm back and launched the seat with all her might; all she knew was that Blake, the person she'd promised to help get back on her feet, was precariously balanced on a single chandelier arm and holding off a swordsman with only a single zap baton.

The barstool flew straight and true, slamming into Adam's shoulder and knocking him into the webwork of gold chains and dangling crystals.

Blake doubletaked at that, looking down at the retreating crowd. Yang tipped her hat when her eyes alighted on her.

"Did you seriously just throw a _barstool_ at Adam? From _that_ distance?!"

"Sorry, couldn't find a javelin."

"Well, he's tangled up in all that glitz, so I think--"

Another loud splintering sound heralded a crack spreading across the ceiling, and Yang felt her heart jolt as the figures on the dangerously swaying light fixture stumbled to keep themselves stable. Over her comms she could hear the white-haired desperately assuring Ilia she had her covered, but her eyes were on Blake's position as she sprinted from table to table, skidding to a stop when she reached a clear patch not quite below the gold.

"Blake! Jump!" She waved her metal hand. "I'll catch you!"

For a moment, their eyes met--gold and lilac cut by a great height, the warning creaks and groans of the final anchor points struggling to keep up far too much weight. There was, in both of them, an identical fear--and yet, in both, an understanding and trust.

White shoes pushed off ancient filigree--

\--the last bonds of metal broke free from the ceiling--

\--and briefly, hanging in the air, a figure of shadow was silhouetted by free-floating glamour.

Yang felt her breath start again when Blake's form smacked into her body, and then with a deafening crash everything was golden haze and fire.

* * *

...soft...

...warm?

That.... something wasn't right about that...

Another word, wrap, yes, the warm wrapped softly...

Not enough. Was there more?

She shifted slightly and winced at a sudden flare of pain, sharp and dull all at once, and her memory reminded her of how she had gotten that pain, rage and loathing pouring in a dark choking mixture down her throat as she growled--

"Easy now, miss. You're safe."

Blake opened her eyes, looking down at Yang's gentle smile. The past few seconds poured into her head, washing away her anger and replacing it with relief.

"Well," the blonde added with a shrug, "as safe as you can be in the middle of a burning building, anyway."

Belatedly, Blake realized she was lying on top of the woman. She pushed herself up to her knees, clearing her throat. "I'm sorry, I blacked out for a second there. I jumped, and then, uh--"

"And then I caught you." Yang pulled herself out from under Blake, rolling her shoulders as she sat up. "I mean, I've got a bit of extra padding so--"

"Don't go there." Blake stood up, looking at the mangled ruins of the chandelier. "Oh shit--where's Ilia?!"

"I caught her!" The white-haired girl hopped over some burning gold, reaching a hand back to help Ilia over.

"Using Schnee glyphs." Ilia accepted the help, wincing and grabbing her leg. "There's no denying it now, you have Weiss Schnee's semblance so--"

"The semblance is on loan."

"That's _impossible!_ I'm absolutely _certain_ that's impossible!"

The white-haired girl smirked. "Have you _met_ Ruby?"

"I am _ninety-five percent_ certain that's impossible!"

Blake leaned in toward Yang. "It's actually impossible, right?"

"As far as I know," Yang said, "but let's not tell Ilia."

"No argument there..."

"Ruby ran off with that police cadet," Ilia muttered, bringing her finger to her ear. "Ruby, where are you?"

"Northwest corner of the room! Penny and I will work our way toward you!"

Blake sighed. "Well, we're all probably going to be arrested."

Yang shrugged. "I know a few decent lawyers--in both senses of the phrase--so we shouldn't be in too much trouble."

And at that moment, the flaming form of Adam Taurus burst out of the wreckage of the chandelier with a roar of rage.

Yang sighed. "Really starting to hate that guy."

"Yeah, any minute now he's going to start monologuing--"

"YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!" Adam screeched, dragging his leg out of a tangle of crystals. "There was a chance to change the city--to free it from the chains of its master, to raise the White Fang to the highest rank, but your _selfish_ desire to be the hero undercut the entire operation!"

Blake ducked under the sweeping sword, swinging her zap baton at Adam's legs and knocking him down. "You thought creating a power vacuum could help the White Fang climb the ranks?! The mafias wouldn't be put down by the death of their leaders, they'd just--"

"Who cares about the mafias?!" Adam spat as he struggled to his feet. "There's only one person here who needed to die!"

Yang fingered her last shuriken, narrowing her eyes. "And who, exactly, is so important that you'd risk half the city getting on your ass?"

"I do believe he is referring to me."

Everyone froze at the soft voice, turning toward the woman gently striding through the wreckage of the massive chandelier. The flames seemed to cower away from her slinky black dress, not a speck of ash landing on the red seams that outlined the dangerous sashay of her hips. One elegantly gloved hand clasped a long, thin kiseru from which still rose slight smoke; the other rose and lightly adjusted the sharp black shades that hid the woman's eyes from view.

"I must say, this is one of the most audacious assassination attempts I can recall." She absently dusted a few specks of gold off her shoulder. "Though I did rather like this chandelier, mister Taurus. Points off for that."

"You--" Adam tensed, not noticing Blake backing away from him. "You..."

The woman tutted gently. "Do try to gather your thoughts before speaking."

"....YOU DIE!"

Adam lunged at her, and for a single awful moment Blake could swear she saw the woman cut in half. But--but that couldn't be right, because seconds later she just took a casual puff of her kiseru, turning around casually without any tear in her dress.

"Vampire," Ilia murmured, hands shaking.

"Semblance," the white-haired girl corrected. She swallowed. "Probably."

Ilia nodded, though her freckles turned dark. "Probably..."

Adam spun around, balking at the sight of the woman still standing in front of him. "But--But I hit--!"

Ruby lept out of the flames with a yell, slamming her pushbroom into his head and knocking him out.

"Adam Taurus, you--are unconscious, so I cannot technically put you under arrest." Penny sighed as she brushed a small flame off her shoulder. "Ruby..."

"I'm sorry, Penny, I got... _swept up_ in the moment." Ruby gestured toward her broom. "Get it? It's a push broom which is used for sweeping but to be swept up in something is a saying so it's a pun so it's funny right?"

"Oh!" Penny giggled. "Yes, it's very funny--Oh! Miss Salem! I'm sorry, was this man threatening you?"

The woman hummed thoughtfully. "No, not really."

"Yang," Blake hissed under her breath, "we need to get out of here _now."_

"Right." Yang cleared her throat. "Well, this has all been crazy but we're in the middle of a burning building and we need to go see if everyone's safe--"

"Oh, Penny's already called the firemen," Ruby said. "It's nice to have a friend on the force!"

Penny blinked, staring at her. "A... friend?"

"Yes." Ruby tilted her head. "Unless you don't want to be friends. I'm not good at judging that I mean I want to be though good at judging I mean but I do also want to be friends if that's okay with you--"

"It's fine! We can be friends!"

"Great! Why don't we talk later after the fire's put out?"

"That sounds sensational!"

"Okay! Here's my scroll number and--"

"Ruby!" the white-haired girl snapped. "Leaving!"

"Oh right!" Ruby rushed over to a wall--the very same wall, Yang realized, that she'd licked earlier--and smashed her broom through it. "This secret passage should get us down to the loading bay real quick!"

"At this point I'm not even going to question it," Ilia mumbled, joining the rest of the group as they rushed down the hidden stairs.

Blake grabbed Penny's hand and, quickly, dragged her toward the newfound exit. She paused for a moment, turning back to look at Adam...

And Salem turned to her with a knowing smile. "I am always open to make a bargain."

Blake glanced at Yang, feeling the metal hand tighten in her grip.

She turned back and shook her head. "I'm good."

"Very well." Salem waved them off, looming over the unconscious man. "I have my own matters to attend to."

Blake nodded and, quietly, left her past to burn.

* * *

_Wait._

_Wait._

_Wait._

_Ever wait. Old eyes say wait. Old eyes know the twisted. Know ways._

_So wait._

_Old eyes back. Carries twisted. Twisted with horns. Lays down._

"Wait."

_Says wait. So wait._

_Old eyes sits. Watches._

_Twisted wakes. Twisted stands. Sees old eyes._

_Noise._

_Lots of noise._

_Old eyes bares teeth. Single claw. Twisted turns. Twisted sees._

"Now."

_Jaws. Claws. Purpose!_

_Twisted screams under moon..._

_Old eyes watches._


	7. Cash In

"Ilia still trying to get Draz to admit to being Weiss Schnee?"

"Oh yes," Blake said with an amused grin. "Heads over to the Mechanicus district all the time. You wouldn't believe what happened last time I was there."

Yang leaned back. "Okay, hit me."

"The two of them were really into their banter, and out of nowhere Ruby pipes up and says ‘If you really love her I'm open to polyamory.'"

Yang broke out laughing. "Oh god, did she?!"

"She did!" Blake smiled. "And of course, her ‘lab assistant wife' turns right around and says ‘you just want to kiss Penny, don't you.'"

"Oh no!"

"And Ruby says ‘Yes. What's wrong with that?'"

"Ooooh noooo!"

"So of course Iila gets all flustered, like she always does when cute girls talk about kissing, and that's exactly when Penny calls up and asks if she can drop by."

"Oh man..." Yang shook her head. "That girl... You know, if Penny ever figures out you gave the White Fang the files from the police office, she's going to be upset."

Blake sighed. "I took out everything about her first. She... deserves a chance at a normal life." She smiled. "Especially after she kept us off the books."

"Good heart, that one. And she's not nearly as stupid as Clover."

"Yeah, how _do_ you know Clover anyway?"

Yang put down her sandwich with a laugh. "He used to date my uncle."

"Really."

"They broke up over political differences." The blonde shrugged. "Heavy objects were thrown."

Blake huffed. "The more I learn about you, miss Xiao Long, the more curious I become."

"Yeah, I've had a heck of a life." Yang cleared her throat. "So... what about you?"

"What?"

"I mean, are you... you know, stable, in a good place, all that jazz?"

Blake hummed quietly. "Well, I... you could say I'm on an enforced vacation."

Yang nodded in understanding. "Yeah, all the mafias are lying low after Alsius. Licking their wounds, probably."

"I mean, the White Fang isn't. There weren't many of our agents there." Blake lifted her glass in a sarcastic toast. "Hooray for racism."

"But _you've_ still been benched?"

Blake folded her ears back. "The commandant says I'm more valuable as an Ancora contact."

Yang hummed quietly.

"...I don't know, I shouldn't be complaining. I mean, my boyfriend tried to kill me and--and everything happened so fast and I still haven't processed it all so I should have some time off, yeah. It just--"

"You just feel useless if you're not helping."

Blake sighed, leaning back into her chair. "That about sums it up, yeah."

"Oh, I know the feeling." Yang chuckled dryly. "Reason I charge so much is because I can go weeks without somebody calling up for my help. Sometimes I've got to do some jobs on side--to pay the bills, yeah, but also because I get itchy to just... do something."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

The two of them looked around Café de Calavera, not really talking, just taking in the few diners and the oddly macabre decorations.

"What's Maria's story anyway?"

Yang shrugged. "All I know is that she's been here since I was a kid, and nobody ever robs her. Ever."

Blake quirked an eyebrow. "Ever?"

"Let me put it this way, back when I was a hooligan we all dared each other to steal from this or that corner store. But the cafe? The one time somebody brought it up, everyone went silent."

"Huh."

"Rumor is she killed a mugger once." Yang leaned in. "After the woman cut out her eyes."

That got a snort. "Kids will come up with the craziest stories, huh."

"Yeah. Still, great sandwiches though."

The conversation stalled for a moment or two.

"...Hey, can I ask why you've got pull with Ancora anyway?"

Blake blushed. "Oh, that. Uh... my dad's kind of an important politician."

"How important?"

"He, uh... he's kind of... the chieftain of Kuo Kuana."

"I--wow." Yang leaned back. "Okay, that actually explains a lot."

"Oh here we go...."

"No, I'm serious! I was wondering how somebody with such a strong moral core could have wound up... uh... looking... so amazing!"

Blake gave her a flat look. "You were going to say ‘with Adam.'"

"...yes'm'm."

"And then you were going to say he seduced me for leverage in the Fang."

"Yes'm'm."

"...and you wouldn't be wrong," Blake finished quietly.

Yang reached out and took her hand. "Hey. Even with what he did... you're still here. You still know right from wrong, and you still... you still have a chance to be whatever you want to be."

Blake heaved a small sigh. "Yeah, I guess." She managed a smile, a genuine one. "Hey, Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being in my corner. For all of this."

Yang tilted her hat. "Anytime, Blake. Any--"

Her scroll buzzed.

"...yeah, I need to--"

"It's okay, I get it."

With an apologetic smile, Yang answered the call. "Hello, you have reached Yang Xiao Long, Private Investigator. Helping hands and free advice, that's what I've got to--ma'am. Ma'am, please, calm down, take a few breaths, I can't help if I can't understand you. Okay, are you good?"

Blake leaned over her teacup, idly stirring it with a spoon.

"Okay, what's going on? Mmhm.... oh. Yeah, that does sound bad--oh. That long? Okay, okay. Look, I'm going to need a couple blues by the hour, but I'll definitely try to find him."

Yang rubbed her fingers across her eyebrows.

"Yes ma'am. I'll keep you updated. Weekly. Yes ma'am. No. Don't worry, ma'am, I'll make sure he's safe."

She shut off her scroll and sighed.

"Missing kid?"

"Nephew. Gone for weeks. She's already called the cops, but they closed the case on Oscar Pine yesterday and won't open it again." Yang rolled her shoulders and rose. "Looks like I'm going to be busy."

Blake stood up, holding out her hand. "Need a partner?"

Yang blinked, staring at it for a moment.

"...You know what?" She clasped it firmly. "Sure. At least I know I won't have to train you up."

Blake grinned wryly. "And that's the only reason you're hiring me."

"Nah," Yang replied with a smirk, "but it's a perk."

Maria watched the two of them walk out of the cafe, shaking her head knowingly. "And so it begins..."


End file.
